Garagiste is the Mornington Peninsula label of winemaker Barney Flanders, whose 'Le Stagiaire' range showcases his work with varieties beyond the Peninsula's pinot and chardonnay. This Grenache Blanc is hand-picked from around ten-year-old vines at Colbinabbin, in Victoria's Heathcote region, grown on the district's distinctive limestone-rich red Cambrian soils. The warm Heathcote climate ripens the Mediterranean variety fully, while the poor, well-drained soils and the picking decision keep natural acidity and a saline lift. The result is a perfumed, faintly waxy white with apricot, white peach, pear and chamomile aromatics and a mouth-watering, savoury finish.

In the low-intervention Stagiaire style the fruit was sorted and whole-bunch pressed to seasoned French oak puncheons, then wild-fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged on lees for several months to build texture, with only a small new-oak component. The gentle handling preserves freshness and a lively, saline finish rather than any heavy or cloying weight. Exact fermentation and élevage details specific to this Heathcote Grenache Blanc are not separately documented.