2025 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay

95 pts
Top value Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay from the legend that is Barney Flanders.

Price:
Sale price$33.00
Stock:
In stock, ready to ship
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Description

Another fantastic release here of one of Victoria's best-value Chardonnays.

Barney Flanders pulls from a tidy mix of Mornington vineyards here, anchored by 25-year-old vines across Balnarring, Merricks North, Merricks and Tuerong. All whole-bunch pressed, wild fermented in big 500L puncheons, and left alone on lees for seven months. Just long enough to get the palate weight ramped up a fraction before bottling.

Gee, it looks good, even at this early stage of its life. There’s a cool glide to the palate - citrus skin, white nectarine, maybe a flick of jasmine - with a subtle nip of oak and a gentle creamy ripple from partial malo. It's class-act Chardonnay that feels much more premium than the price tag suggests.

There is never a lot of this wine around and given the value on offer, it's no wonder. Great buying.

95 points
"Great value, great wine. A lovely balance of citrus and white nectarine with ginger flower and a neat tug of phenolics. The palate is neatly composed, with a flutter of light lees and juicy acidity. Up there as one of my go-to drinks because everything about it is just right."
- Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)

94 points
"This is juicy and flavoursome... It’s such a tasty Chardonnay. Everything is in the right place."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

95 points - "Great value, great wine. A lovely balance of citrus and white nectarine with ginger flower and a neat tug of phenolics. The palate is neatly composed, with a flutter of light lees and juicy acidity. Up there as one of my go-to drinks because everything about it is just right." - Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)

94 points - "This is juicy and flavoursome. Nectarine, pink grapefruit, a lightly salty and spicy preserved lemon thing. It has a pulpy citrus flavour mixed with stone fruit, a little creamy and nutty, some flinty bits, with a seaside saline and citrus finish of excellent length. It’s such a tasty Chardonnay. Everything is in the right place." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

Customer Reviews

This year’s Stagiaire blend draws on fruit from Merricks (35%), Balnarring (25%), Merricks North (30%) and Tuerong (10%). The Merricks North parcel is drawn from the latest addition to Garagiste’s bench of great Mornington sites. Planted in 1996, the vines lie in similar brown loamy soils to those at the flagship Merricks Grove site located close by.

Sorted in the vineyard and winery before being pressed as whole bunches to 500-litre puncheons, this wine is wild fermented with no temperature control, followed by seven months on lees to slowly enrich the texture. A couple of barrels went through malolactic, and the nicely integrated new oak component stands at 10%.

Price Bracket $31 to $40
Type White
Body Full Bodied
Variety Chardonnay
Country Australia
Region Mornington Peninsula
Australian State VIC
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Halliday Wine Companion
Critic Score 94
95
Size 750ml
Vintage 2025
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

Others also liked

Recently viewed

Common Questions

Delivery is free on orders of $199 or more.

For orders under this amount, delivery is calculated at checkout based on your postcode. You can order in any quantity or combination of wines you like. Straight dozens are not required.

We will dispatch your order the same or next business day.

Estimated delivery transit time varies depending on your location. Please review this page for specific estimates.

No sorry we do not have a store front and pickup is not available.

Yes, no problem. When placing your order select ‘Store at Different Drop and Delivery Later’ as your shipping method or reply to the order confirmation email after placing your order with additional instructions.

We stock three different sized gift boxes (single, three bottle and six), all are available for purchase for a flat rate of $8. They look great and make an awesome impression.

To add a gift box to your order, simply add at checkout. The special requests box is your friend, please give us as many details of what you are looking for and we will try our best, or get in contact to discuss it with you. 

If you want to bulk order gifts or if you have any trouble please email hello@differentdrop.com or call and we can try and help.

 

Our warehouse is automated so unless you tell us otherwise, we will ship your order. If you would like us to hold your order please reply to the order confirmation email after placing your order and we are happy to store your order for up to 6 months at no charge. You can review our heat policy here.

Yes, of course. We want Different Drop customers to always be getting the best price. You can see our price match policy here.

No, feel free to mix it up! There is no minimum requirement. You can order wines in any quantity or combination, 1 or 50+ bottles.

No, all prices are set at the full discounted dozen rate already.

Most wine retailers list at a single-bottle price and then discount 10–15% when you buy six or twelve. We've taken the opposite approach. Since the overwhelming majority of our orders are already 6 bottles or more, our list price is set for the case buyer from the start. There's no inflated single-bottle price to discount down from.

What that means for you:

- One price, same for everyone — no minimum to hit to unlock the best rate
- No mixed-six gymnastics to qualify for a discount
- Our single-bottle price is typically at or below a traditional retailer's by-the-dozen rate

Put simply: the box discount is already baked into the price.

**And if you find it cheaper elsewhere?** Let us know. If the same wine is available at a lower price at another retailer (including at their mixed-six or by-the-dozen rate) we're happy to match it.

If you can't add more wine to your cart it means we are low on stock of that wine. For example, if you are only able to 3 bottles and no more that means we only have 3 bottles left of that wine. If it's a must have, please contact us and we may be able to order more in for you.

Regular Enquiries

Urgent Enquiries

02 8376 8775