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Description
Since its inception in 2006, Garagiste has emerged as one of Victoria's brightest stars, showcasing Barney Flanders' commitment to single-site, sub-regional expressions of his beloved region, the Mornington Peninsula.
This fantastic six-pack is the best way to get acquainted with the wines of Garagiste, including the ever-popular Le Stagiaire Pinot and Chardonnay!
- 2025 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay
- 2024 Garagiste Tuerong Chardonnay
- 2024 Garagiste Merricks Chardonnay
- 2025 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Pinot Noir
- 2024 Garagiste Balnarring Pinot Noir
- 2024 Garagiste Merricks Pinot Noir
2025 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay
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.
2024 Garagiste Tuerong Chardonnay
Great vineyards viewed through the lens of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; that's Barney Flanders' vision for his Garagiste wines.
The Tuerong Chardonnay is an excellent example of the quality of wines he produces. There's a power and intensity to this Chardonnay, a lightning strike of acidity, a curl of luscious oak; all the while, the purity of the fruit and the characters of the vineyard remain the key point of focus.
An impressive release from Barney: it's a stunning Chardonnay comparable with the very best of the region.
95 points
"More stone fruit than citrus and a slightly richer palate compared with its Merricks sibling. Still, reined in by fine acidity and restraint in the winemaking. It’s a tip-top Tuerong with some dried fig and white peach, creamy, nutty lees and the merest hint of spicy oak. It feels luscious yet there's nothing overt or overpowering. It’s all classy chardonnay."
- Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)
2024 Garagiste Merricks Chardonnay
This is Barney Flanders in top form. The 2024 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.
The 2024 Merricks is a Chardonnay of serious intent. 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 20th vintage farming the Merricks site, and it shows. The 2024 is a wine of real shape and substance, maybe a little less showy than some previous years, but perhaps a little more complete on release.
96 points
"Now this has all the right moves, well flavour anyway. Meyer lemon and grapefruit and flinty sulphides. Cedary, spicy oak adds flavour not weight while creamy, luscious lees expand across the palate, adding a moreish note. Then superfine acidity comes in to steal the show. Such a good drink."
- Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)
96 points
"My word, this wine sizzles... It’s chalky and flinty, and in particular, the length of it is outstanding, closing with a little quinine bite. Well butter me both sides Barney, this is a beauty."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
2025 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Pinot Noir
Every year, Barney Flanders takes a selection of some of his favourite Pinot parcels from his Mornington sites - Balnarring, Red Hill, Merricks Grove and now Merricks North - and throws down a Pinot that makes the rest of the $35ish crowd in the region look a bit undercooked.
Merricks North leads the blend this year, with plush, perfumed Dijon clones lifting the deep, structural MV6 from the other sites. Whole berries, wild ferments, a short spell on skins, then time in large oak and concrete before bottling it with no fining and no filtering.
It’s got a real Mornington weight and presence to it. Ripe red fruits, a flicker of spice, and a smooth ride of tannin through the finish. When we tasted the 2025, we commented that it feels like Barney's pulled back on the structure and upped the slurpability in this release. It's hard to picture a better value entry into Mornington Pinot than this little beauty.
This is one of our most popular wines every year. How Barney manages to get this quality at this price point never ceases to amaze us but we're glad he does and hope he never stops!
2024 Garagiste Balnarring Pinot Noir
It's no secret that Barney at Garagiste makes a great Pinot. And this, one of his very limited single vineyard releases is back after a three year hiatus!
The Balnarring Pinot comes from a little further down from the hill on the Mornington Peninsula than Barney's Merricks Pinot Noir, and it makes a fascinating comparison. It's a fine and pretty drop, a little lighter than its Merricks counterpart.
Think juicy & bright yet savoury, perfume & subtle spice, red fruits all wrapped up in a satin bow. Pure pleasure in a glass, a must-have for all lovers of a lighter Pinot.
95 points
"A much denser and richer offering compared with its Merricks sibling. With its whorl of the blackest cherries, kirsch and licorice it’s almost luscious. Sweet, cedary oak fleshes out the fuller-bodied palate, yet it’s by no means a weighty wine. There's some blood orange and chinotto in the mix, with fine tannins and equally fine acidity playing leading roles."
- Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)
95 points
"It’s spicy and perfumed, has a sort of ripe cherry and empty chocolate box thing happening, something a little earthy like Kukicha (Bancha) twig tea (try it, it’s nice). It’s medium-bodied, plush and flavoursome, blood plum, cherry and almond, exotic spice, with a gently sappy tang, cool acidity, and a distinctly earthy ‘mineral’ character that’s really very fetching. There’s something of a pumice stone feel to tannin, and the finish is bright and long, with red fruit and a twist of orange peel bitterness. Has a bit of X factor. Very nice. "
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
2024 Garagiste Merricks Pinot Noir
Barney Flanders has hit another level with this 2024 Merricks Pinot Noir. It’s his 20th vintage working this site, and the experience shows in every finely tuned detail - this is pure Mornington Peninsula Pinot with muscle, poise and confidence.
Drawn from 28-year-old vines grown on the famous Mornington red dirt, this is the most structured and powerful Pinot in the Garagiste range. The 2024 vintage brought slightly higher yields than 2023, but the fruit came in balanced and pristine. Barney stuck to his trademark style: 33% whole bunches, wild ferment, gentle extraction, and 10 months in French oak (just 20% new). Very classic winemaking from Barney - if it ain't broke, don't mess with it!
The wine has incredible depth - dark cherry, raspberry, and blood plum lead into layers of spice, fresh herbs, and a subtle mineral line. The tannins are finely woven and gently assertive, giving the wine structure without heaviness. There’s lift, length and that signature savoury edge Barney handles so well.
It’s a wine that manages to be both generous and grounded. One of the Peninsula’s great Pinot makers in full stride - this is as good as Merricks gets. Drink now with air or tuck it away for a few years if you’ve got the patience.
95 points
"A distinctive trait of the Garagiste pinots, they are savoury. Sure there’s a core of good fruit, but the cherry accent is merely one component; there’s the spice, the woodsy, cedary oak, all integrated, the ferrous character, almost stony, the pleasantly drying tannins and flourish of fine acidity to close. It’s complete. It’s also charmingly aromatic."
- Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)
95 points
"This is a rich, spicy and cherry laden wine. There’s some orange peel and amaro twang, an earthy spice. a bit of empty chocolate box, a cool mineral thing happening, a dusty and graphite grip to tannin, juicy dark cherry and grainy tannin on a finish of excellent length. Crisp, flavoursome and energetic. Sappy and wheaty. Very good Pinot here."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)
Customer Reviews
| Price Bracket | $41 to $50 |
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Mornington Peninsula |
| Australian State | VIC |
| Feature |
High Score |
| Critic Score |
95 96 |
| Size | 10 |
Garagiste Wines
Winemaker Barney Flanders Discover Garagiste Wines
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