There were many happy faces in Mornington as the 2025 vintage drew to a close. The quality of the fruit was one thing: perhaps even more importantly, after a string of cooler, low yielding years, yields were heading in the right direction. It should come as no surprise that Barney Flanders has knocked it out the park. His whites are fleshy and delicious, yet not without the elegance, tension and lucidity typical of this Mornington star. Drawing on the backbone of his new Merricks North vineyard, the Le Stagiaire Pinot, young as it is, is superbly chiselled and refined. What’s more, Barney’s sleek, nuanced Merricks Rosé is back and better than ever.