2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Pinot Noir
2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Pinot Noir

2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Pinot Noir

95 pts
Garagiste |Mornington Peninsula |Pinot Noir
One of the country's best value Pinot Noirs from Mornington Peninsula legend, Barney Flanders.
4.6
Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars
37 Reviews
Price:
$29.00 $35.00
Stock:
Sold out
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Description

Barney Flanders loves Pinot Noir, and every release of the value-packed Le Stagiaire Pinot Noir seems to out do the previous one. It has been one of the most popular wines in Different Drop history.

Winemaker Barney Flanders, known for his dedication to Pinot, blends fruit from several of his top vineyards, with Merricks North’s 30-year-old Dijon clones adding plushness and floral lift to the structured MV6 clones from Balnarring, Red Hill, and Merricks Grove.

Crafted with a gentle touch, this wine goes through wild fermentation with minimal whole bunches, 21 days on skins, and careful ageing in concrete, large foudre, and old oak barrels. It’s bottled unfined and unfiltered, keeping every bit of its savoury complexity and purity intact. The result is a beautifully balanced Pinot, layered with red berries, spice, and an earthy edge, all tied together by a refreshing mineral streak.

Simply put this wine represents the essence of Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir. Value for money wise, this is an Australian Pinot Noir star.

Jane Faulkner

Jane Faulkner

Halliday Wine Companion 95 Points

Don’t overthink this. It’s a delicious, well-made and pleasing pinot. Nothing out of place, with a neat combo of florals, red cherries, baking spices galore and some woodsy notes, too. And it's a little autumnal. Some amaro/Angostura bitters pop out, adding a touch of exotica. A neat layer of textural tannins, mouth-watering acidity and refreshment throughout.

Gary Walsh

Gary Walsh

The Wine Front 94 Points

Spicy, perfumed, complex. It has plenty of structure, juicy cherry flavour, bright but balanced acidity, and excellent length. A short note for an impressive wine. What else do you need to know? Oh, yes, it drinks a charm.

Customer Reviews

4.6
Rated 4.6 out of 5 stars
Based on 37 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 23 Total 4 star reviews: 12 Total 3 star reviews: 2 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
37 reviews
  • CH
    Chantalle H.
    Verified Buyer
    1 month ago
    Reviewing
    2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Pinot Noir
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Delicious

    Such an epic wine, soft robust I loved it.

    Was this helpful?
  • OW
    Oliver W.
    Verified Buyer
    1 month ago
    Reviewing
    2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Pinot Noir
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    Decent pinot, needed time

    Tasty pinot considering its price point. Was better after the bottle had been open 24 hours, so given it some time to open up.

    Was this helpful?
  • AM
    Ash M.
    Verified Buyer
    6 months ago
    Reviewing
    2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Pinot Noir
    Rated 4 out of 5 stars
    2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Pinot Noir

    A lovely Pinot, not too light not too heavy for it's variety. Very easily drinkable.

    Was this helpful?
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Garagiste’s new Merricks North ‘fermage’, home to 30-year Dijon clones, plays a starring role in this year’s Stagiaire blend, accounting for 40%. The balance comprises fruit from Barney’s Balnarring (44%), Red Hill (10%) and Merricks Grove (6%) sites. Balnarring, Red Hill and Merricks Grove are all MV6 clone, whereas Merricks North brings Dijon 114 and 115 into the mix, lending pretty plushness and perfumed nuance to the MV6’s natural structure and power.

After sorting in the vineyard and winery, spontaneous fermentations took place in concrete and stainless steel with whole berries complemented by a 5% bunch component. The fruit spent 21 days on skins, with gentle pumpovers and a small amount of plunging towards the end. The wine matured on its lees in 300-litre hogsheads for seven months, with just 5% new oak. Bottled without fining or filtration, this is quintessential grower Mornington Pinot, bright and perfumed, with red berries, spice and some earthy depth allied to juicy weight, a powerful core and a subtle but refreshing mineral line. Simply outstanding personality.

Price Bracket $31 to $40
Type Red
Body Light Bodied
Variety Pinot Noir
Country Australia
Region Mornington Peninsula
Australian State VIC
Feature High Score
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Halliday Wine Companion
Critic Score 94
95
Alcohol 13%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Screw Cap

Garagiste Wines

Garagiste is the project of Barnaby Flanders, one of the most respected names in Mornington Peninsula wine. Since launching in 2006, Flanders has focused on making serious, small-batch Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that reflect the distinct sub-regions of the Peninsula.

He started out at Merricks Grove in 2000 and still sources from that vineyard today, alongside parcels from places like Tuerong, Balnarring and Main Ridge. Each site brings something different - whether it’s the sandy soils of the north or the higher, cooler slopes in the south - and Flanders leans into those differences rather than smoothing them out.

His approach is minimal but exacting. Chardonnay is whole-bunch pressed, fermented with wild yeasts, and sees restrained oak. Pinot Noir is all about balance - picked for freshness, made with a light touch, and bottled without excess. The wines are clean, detailed, and built to age, but they’re also approachable from the outset.

Together with winemaker and business partner Cam Marshall, Flanders also makes the Le Stagiaire range - a more accessible price point that offers legitimately some of the best value Pinot Noir & Chardonnay in Australia that still carries the same regional clarity and intent. Across both labels, the focus is sharp: site expression, thoughtful farming, and no shortcuts. Garagiste remains one of the benchmark producers in Mornington. If you want to understand what makes this region special, this is a very good place to start.

Winemaker Barney Flanders Discover Garagiste Wines

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