2010 Topper's Mountain Wild Ferment Viognier

The label has a padlock in shades if dusted bronze to red bronze  The wine is semi pale gold in colour.There's pine and apricot in the aroma. The palate is spicy, like a cinnamon-nutmeg apricot. The winery claims alternative varieties and the terroir is high altitude and terra rossa profunda. It's a good wine and gets my tick as it does from my co-drinkers at the time. Mark Kirkby is the viongeron  and Mike Harris the winemaker. As a wine-making region it was born in the 1850s - so says the label, but it is currently re-emerging. The 'vineyard is just north of Tingha (near Armidale) on the spine of the Great Dividing Range in northern NSW', at 'the western edge of the New England Tablelands at an altitude of 900m above sea level. The vines have their roots deeply immersed in the beautiful, deep, red volcanic soils high above the valleys of the MacIntyre & Gwydir Rivers'. The name "Topper's Mountain" appears to have come 'from brothers E & W Topper who were employees of George Wyndham in the 1850s. At this time George owned "New Valley Station" which included the present day "Topper's Mountain"'. Note that the winery 's website does not currently list this wine.