A wine of the heart! 2022 is only the second release, after 2018, of Barney’s Flanders’ Mornington Blanc de Noirs. When it comes to the world’s great sparkling wines, Flanders knows his onions; it’s no surprise that he turned to his top vineyard in Merricks as the source. With depth of flavour and freshness in mind, Garagiste’s harvest for the sparkling base takes place roughly two weeks before the Merricks vineyard table wines. In the shed, the fruit is slowly whole-bunch pressed directly to old barriques for a wild ferment without temperature control. Post-primary, it was kept on full solids for 10 months. Put to bottle in January 2023, the wine stayed on lees for 30 months and was disgorged in June 2025 with 3 g/l dosage. Wearing the lightest hint of colour, this is finely perfumed with a bright, red-fruited nose deliciously reminiscent of true Blanc de Noirs styles, along with the accompanying energising acidity, abundant mineral tones and a refreshing finish. Far from frivolous, it’s a perfect aperitif style. Future disgorgements will show more complexity; here and now, this is a terrific wine, with far more sophistication than you might expect at this price.

Hand harvested, hand sorted & whole bunch pressed. Natural fermentation is on high solids with partial malolactic. Barrel fermented in 500-litre puncheons (20% new François Frères), the wine is matured on lees for 10 months before bottling.A bright & punchy Chardonnay; Lemon & grapefruit citrus. Sherbert. Spicy oak. slight lees funkiness. A good lengthy finish.

Le Stagiaire Chardonnay is drawn mostly from Garagistes Merricks vineyard, with the balance coming from Balnarring and Tuerong. Barney Flanders doesn't make these wines specifically for this labelall his ferments start out as potential single-vineyard wines, so the single-site wines are barrel selections, with the remaining wines bottled under Le Stagiaire. This provides some idea of how this label is able over-deliver, year in year out.