Place: Mornington Peninsula, VIC

Variety: Pinot Noir

Farming: Sustainable

Barney Flander's doesn't 'make' Le Stagiaire wines specifically for this label, all his ferments start out as potential single vineyard wines, and so the single site wines are barrel selections, with the remaining wines bottled under this label. This gives us some idea of how he's able over deliver, year in year out and, we might add that the wines that make up this terrific value Pinot could quite easily have been bottled as single vineyard wines.

This is a flat-out triumph. So crunchy and bright, yet underscored by a depth of supple fruit and the kind of structure that is hard to come by in Mornington Pinot (especially at this price). It's its typically fragrant, pretty and silky, with 10% whole-bunch adding vibrancy, so beautifully woven together with waves of sappy freshness encouraging you to revisit the glass with considerable frequency! Dangerously seductive, and terrific value.