Description
This is Barney Flanders in top form. The 2025 Merricks Chardonnay is powerful, textural and crackling with energy - arguably the most complete white he’s bottled to date.
From his 28-year-old vineyard on the grey loams and red ferrosols of Merricks, this is the boldest of the Garagiste Chardonnays. But don’t expect bluster. Barney has long chased finesse over flash, and that vision continues to sharpen. Picked by hand and pressed as whole bunches, the juice was fermented with plenty of solids in large, seasoned puncheons, then aged on gross lees for 10 months without stirring. Just 15% new oak was used this year - the fruit the star of the show.
It's a Chardonnay of what you might call serious intent. Flavour, structure, personality - everything is dialled up. There’s ripe peach and yellow citrus, backed by a chalky phenolic drive, a lick of struck match, and mouth-watering acidity carrying it all through. It’s layered and long, with a kind of effortless density that lingers well after the last sip.
This is Barney’s 21st vintage farming the Merricks site, and it shows. Stunning wine.
95+ points
"This is as good as any chardonnay you’ll find and it’s $50. Kudos, respect, applause. This is a wine of flavour, tension, complexity and length, and on all those words I would place an underline... If ever you wanted evidence that Garagiste is one of Australia’s best producers, this is it."
- Campbell Mattinson (The Wine Front)
| Price Bracket | $51 to $100 |
| Type | White |
| Body | Full Bodied |
| Variety | Chardonnay |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Mornington Peninsula |
| Australian State | VIC |
| Reviewed By |
The Wine Front |
| Critic Score |
95 |
| Alcohol | 13% |
| Size | 750ml |
| Vintage | 2025 |
| Closure | Screw Cap |
Garagiste Wines
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