Topper’s Mountain New England Bricolage Blanc 2014
Topper’s Mountain – the undisputed hero of New England (the NSW New England, not the American one), if awfully marginal.
Marginal because it’s an estate focused on alternative varieties, in what is a cool ‘frontier’ wine region, with almost no profile to speak of.
Triple the fun.
This typically odd blend just ‘works’ too, marrying 64% Chardonnay, 21% Gewurtztraminer, 12% Viognier and 2% Sauvignon Blanc in what is a textural, fiercely dry (TA 6.69g/L, pH 3.4) white wine of blinding intensity and interest.
Light straw green in colour, it is driven by that Gewurrz component (Topper’s make the best Gewürztraminer in the country), yet also the many layers of Chardonnay and supplementary varieties. Long, slightly sour but refreshing, the wildly intense palate has a gentleness to match the spicy Gewurtz, a hint of peach and melon too before that twist of phenolics to finish.
A multi-faceted wine with beguiling, spicy intensity and texture and flavour, I can’t help but admire this. Just delicious. Drink: 2015-2023. 18.5/20, 94/100
Details: 12.9%, Screwcap, Sample
Would I buy if? Sure would. I’d probably drink most of the bottle too.
Buy online: Topper’s website
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4 Comments
Nice post. This wine looks very interesting. Andrew, can you please explain a bit of what you mean when you say the wine finishes with "a twist of phenolics"? My limited google searching brings up a bunch of sciency stuff, and I see the mentioning of tannin, but is phenolics specifically about taste or mouth-feel?
Absolutely.
I'm not a wine chemist, but I've always considered phenolics as a really broad group of compounds that can affect taste, colour and mouthfeel. Tannins and anthocyanin (which gives colour) are perhaps the best known phenolic compounds, but there are loads of others that can affect how a wine looks/smells/tastes.
Certain phenolic compounds (like tannins) are directly correlated with skin contact and pressing, with much of these compounds largely present in the skin. As a result, more skin contact, more phenolics. There is also a direct correlation between astringency and bitterness in wine with increased concentrations of phenolic compounds. Hence more skin contact = more bitterness/astringency (or 'grip' in its mildest form).
Further, thicker skins = more potential for phenolic extraction, and Gewurtz is one tough skinned little berry. Hence why Gewurtz often has more phenolics and probably why I likely picked up some phenolic grip on the finish here.
Hopefully that makes sense! I read a great paper from the AWRI a little while back talking about phenolics and white wine that should help more (if I can find it).
Ok here we go – http://research.wineaustralia.com/completed_projects/identification-of-the-major-drivers-of-phenolic-taste-in-white-wines/
Great! Thanks for all the information, Andrew.