Barnaby Flanders was a co-founder of Allies Wines (see separate entry) in 2003, with some of the wines made under the Garagiste label. Allies has now gone its own way, and Barnaby has a controlling interest in the Garagiste brand. The future will focus on the Mornington Peninsula, and in particular grapes from the very different soils of Tuerong and Moorooduc in the north with sand-based soils, to the brown loam/red volcanic soils of Merricks and Merricks North in the middle, and ultimately the red volcanic soils of Red Hill and Main Ridge in the most elevated southern sector. Pinot noir and chardonnay will be the varieties used, and the wines will be made with wild yeasts, minimal handling and bottling without fining or filtration. JAMES HALLIDAY
Anyone with even a passing interest in cool-climate Australia will already know that Garagiste is one of the Mornington Peninsula’s brightest rising stars. Barnaby Flanders created the Garagiste label following his amicable split with Allies co-founder David Chapman (who continues with the Allies label). ‘Barney’ now focuses on a snug range of small-batch wines from fruit sourced from the highly prized Merricks Grove vineyard, the Silverwood vineyard (Balnarring), and the Hugh Robinson vineyard in Moorooduc.
Garagiste, the main label, is ably supported by delicious entry-level wines under the Le Stagiaire banner. Barnaby and Cam (Marshall) manage all aspects of the viticulture and winemaking themselves and a range of succulent, finely tuned and elegantly crafted cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is what results.
