Beautifully ripe mandarins, fresh apricot and lemon zest. Hints of baked peach pie with nutmeg oak spice. Honeycomb and dried banana chips.
There are probably fewer than ten producers making Manseng anywhere in Australia. Topper’s Mountain is one of them — and the only one growing what turns out to be Gros Manseng in a high-altitude, cool-climate volcanic-soil environment purpose-built for the variety’s strengths. James Halliday’s assessment speaks for itself, he says of all our wines “it is the Manseng that really sings’.
For wine lovers who enjoy the thrill of discovering something genuinely rare — a wine with a story, a sense of place, and a flavour profile unlike anything else on an Australian wine list — the Topper’s Mountain Manseng is an essential find.
So what exactly is Manseng? Where does it come from? Why is it nearly impossible to find anywhere else in Australia? And why does this particular high-altitude vineyard in northern NSW bring the best out of it?
The Origins of Manseng: From the Pyrenean Foothills to New England
Manseng is the family name for two distinct white grape varieties from the Jurançon and Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh wine regions in south-west France, in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Gros Manseng and Petit Manseng are related but distinct: Petit Manseng produces smaller, more concentrated berries with intensely high acidity and residual sugar potential — it’s the variety most associated with the luscious, golden dessert wines of Jurançon, some of the most age-worthy sweet whites in the world.
Gros Manseng has a similar aromatic profile but produces wines that are typically more dry and approachable in youth, with a bright, vibrant freshness and the variety’s characteristic high acid, which it shares with its sibling.
Both varieties are considered rare outside their home appellation.
The DNA: Not What We Thought
For nearly two decades, we thought our wine was Petit Manseng. The wine was excellent — it won gold medals and earned critical acclaim. It was planted as part of our founding “Fruit Salad” block, where Mark trialled 28 different varieties and clones to discover which would thrive in his site’s unusual combination of altitude, cool climate, and volcanic soils.
Then in 2020, DNA testing revealed that the vines were not Petit Manseng at all. They were Gros Manseng.
Topper’s Mountain chose to see it as an adventure. The discovery meant we had something even rarer: an Australian Gros Manseng at a time when the variety was virtually unknown in Aus. It also explained certain characteristics of the wine that had always been slightly puzzling in the context of Petit Manseng. A brightness, a freshness, a slightly broader palate, which now makes perfect sense.
Gros Manseng in New England, NSW
Gros Manseng’s natural botrytis resistance and high natural acidity make it exceptionally well-suited to cool, high-altitude environments. In Jurançon, it is grown on steep hillside sites above the valley of the Gave de Pau — the altitude and drainage are considered essential. At Topper’s Mountain, the parallel conditions are striking: 900 metres above sea level, deep free-draining volcanic soils, cool nights that preserve acidity, and long growing seasons that allow complexity to develop without sugar ripening running ahead of flavour development.
The combination produces a wine with the aromatic complexity that Manseng is capable of — citrus blossom, quince, green apple, stone fruit — and a structure of acidity that gives it both energy in youth and the framework to develop beautifully in the cellar. Gros Manseng’s naturally high acidity also means the wine handles warmer service temperatures without becoming flat or heavy, giving it a flexibility that many aromatic whites lack.
Mark Kirkby has specifically identified Manseng as one of his later-ripening varieties, which he is expanding in the vineyard as a natural complement to the high-altitude, long-season conditions of the site. Every decision at Topper’s Mountain is a long-game decision, and Manseng is part of a 20-year argument about which varieties belong in this part of NSW.
Tasting the 2024 Topper’s Mountain Manseng
The 2024 Manseng arrives in the glass with a pale, bright straw colour and an immediate aromatic freshness.The nose shows quince paste, white peach, and citrus blossom. There’s a light herbal quality underneath, something between fresh thyme and fennel frond, that gives the wine a savouriness alongside its fruit. On the palate, the acidity is the first thing you notice: bright, mouthwatering, alive. Flavours of green apple, pear, and preserved lemon carry through with wonderful clarity, and the finish is long, clean, and refreshing — the kind of wine that makes you reach for the glass again immediately.
Drink it young for freshness, or lay it down for something more developed and complex.
Want to explore more of Topper’s Mountain’s exceptional white wines? The Gewürztraminer has a 95-point Halliday score and multiple golds at national wine competitions. The Viognier from the Keeper range offers another dimension of aromatic complexity from the same volcanic soils. Discover the full Finder range at the Topper’s Mountain shop.
