It’s a biting winter’s afternoon in the Mornington. But standing on a windswept hill, pointing at the red clay soils of the Merricks vineyard, Barney Flanders is all warmth and contagious energy. A human brazier. The Merricks site is wind-battered and exposed, often leading to lower yields as blossoms are torn from flowering vines by relentless maritime gusts. This year is no exception. Joining ’22 and ’23, the 2024 harvest was long, cool and small. But Barney, who has been working with these vines for 20 years, is nonplussed. For him, the ‘24s represent a more elegant, more finessed style. Barney’s approach in the winery is anything but formulaic; he creates wines that are not only site-specific, but vintage specific. “If it’s a warmer, drier or fleshier vintage, you’ve probably got to work those wines a bit more” he tells us. “But if you’ve got an elegant, cooler year, you’ve probably got to stand back a bit.” The stand and deliver approach, and desire for balance, touches every wine from this producer. It’s most evident in the Terre de Feu. This wine comes from a sub-section of the Merricks vineyard on a ragged seam of red volcanic clay. “The bunches look distinctly different. They’re smaller, and more concentrated.” To counter that density, Barney started using 100% whole-bunches in 2013 to bring perfume and spice. A light touch in cooler years like ’24 prevents the stalks from dominating the blend. Even so, this year’s wine is typically heady, perfumed and intense. On the right day, at the right angle, you can spot a little yellow house perched on the south-east slope at Merricks, facing the open ocean. Next to it sits the Terre Maritime block. The block is only a stone’s throw from her sister wine in the Merricks vineyard, also subject to the salty sou’-easterly wind. Whilst the Terre de Feu sits tucked in a corner, Terre Maritime is front and centre with an envious view of the open seas. It is from this site that Barney makes one of Mornington’s most eloquent Chardonnays.