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The Merricks Chardonnay, from 29-year-old vines on soils of grey loams and red ferrosols on south- and southeast-facing slopes, was harvested and sorted by hand before being pressed as bunches. Fermentation was spontaneous with high levels of solids in 500-litre François Frères puncheons. A small portion went through natural malolactic fermentation, and the wine rested in large-format barrels on full gross lees for 10 months before bottling. Barney seeks long, slow lees interaction, choosing extended, gentle contact over stirring, a process writ large in the supple, integrated texture of his recent releases.
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 of the park. Perennially one of Victoria’s benchmark Chardonnays, the 2025 is no different. Expect something fleshy and delicious, yet not without the elegance, tension and lucidity typical of this Mornington star.