After many cold, early mornings, Vintage 2026 is well and truly wrapped up in the Topper's Mountain Wines vineyard. Now, our focus is getting the vines ready for winter, and tinkering closely as the wines start to take shape in the winery.
In the Vineyard
Vintage 2026 followed a well-balanced lead-in with a slightly wetter-than-average winter in 2025. October arrived warm and dry, building strong, even and disease-free canopies.
Flowering in November saw a mix of warmth and rain; not ideal but conditions settled without lasting impact on fruit set. From January through April, the season became dry, with rainfall nearly 200mm below average, allowing for clean fruit and uninterrupted ripening.
This warmth carried fruit through to full maturity – a welcome return to full ripeness not seen since 2018. It was earliest finish and shortest harvest on record kicking off on February 3 for sparkling base and finishing March 27 with Tannat.
A warm, dry season that delivered clarity, concentration and confidently ripened fruit across the vineyard. We’ve not got some excellent wines doing their thing in the winery!
~ Mark
In the winery
The warm and unusually dry 2026 vintage came as a bit of a relief after a run of wetter seasons. Fruit came in beautifully clean across the board. The main challenge was the pace of ripening — sugar accumulation was running ahead of phenolic development, so picking decisions required a bit of patience and trust to get the balance right. Yields were down significantly, sitting at around 30%, which naturally concentrated flavours but also added a bit of pressure during an already tight season.
It was a very compressed vintage, particularly in the first half, with multiple varieties coming in earlier than expected. To make things more interesting, I managed to dislocate my shoulder on the very first day of picking, which made the first few weeks physically challenging, to say the least. Special thanks to Fillipo and Lucy who arrived to give me a hand during pressing.
Despite all that, the wines are shaping up extremely well. The sparkling base stands out with lovely flavour intensity and freshness. The whites across the range look strong, but the Gros Manseng is particularly exciting. For the first time, we fermented it entirely in ceramic eggs, and it’s showing great texture, purity, and energy. Tempranillo Blanco is another highlight, having gone through a very long, eight-week wild fermentation in Austrian oak, building impressive depth and complexity.
The reds are equally promising, with deep colour and concentrated flavours thanks to the low yields. Syrah is especially exciting this year — perfumed, floral, with classic pepper and mulberry notes, showing a really nice cool-climate expression despite the warmth of the season. Nebbiolo also looks outstanding. The warm, dry conditions really suited this late ripener, allowing it to fully develop while retaining structure and tension.
All in all, a challenging but rewarding vintage, with plenty to look forward to!
~ Jan
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of it so far. Whether that’s been in the vineyard or following along at home, sipping on a glass of the good stuff.
We’re looking forward to bringing you along for the journey, and seeing you at the cellar door and vineyard to sip and share.
