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!

95 points
"The value belies the quality as there’s always a lot of detail to this range, yet it's so approachable... A wine you want to drink on a cold day while staying toasty in front of a fire."
- Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)