Lucy M
Adelaide Hills, South Australia.
Available nationwide.
Anton van Klopper’s commitment to making wines without any additions and his unwavering, unapologetic attitude have made him a pinup boy of natural wine—not just in Australia, but internationally. His craft of natural wine is a straightforward exercise: it involves vinifying grapes, and grapes alone, without any additions whatsoever. Few debates in wine have been so charged or divisive but Anton’s approach remains on course.
Despite Anton’s wide renown, this is a super-small operation. The Lucy M vineyard and winery sit in the Basket Range, a picturesque pocket of the Adelaide Hills, where Anton also grows vegetables for The Summertown Aristologist—his nearby restaurant and cellar door (run together with Commune of Buttons). Anton also sources fruit from vineyards both in and around the Basket Range, which are rented and tended by him and his friend Jasper Button (all have gradually been converted to organic viticulture.)
Anton’s formal wine education has taught him to understand what he doesn’t want to do. He admits that it has taken time and plenty of practice to make completely unadulterated wines, but the risk is worthwhile. These are complex, raw and mind-bending wines to taste. They are the product of a multitude of techniques, with natural ferments and aging in large-format oak and concrete eggs preceding bottling without fining or filtering. They are unapologetic for what they are and that’s exactly how Anton intends it to be.
Wine
Chardonnay
Terroir
Alluvial black, sandy soil.
Vineyard
Cemetery Block, Piccadilly Valley
Viticulture
Organic (not certified), dry grown, cane pruned
Winemaking
The fruit is whole bunched pressed, fermented in 15-year-old 500 litre barrels and aged on lees. The wine is only the free run fraction.
Chardonnay Pétillant Naturel
Variety
Chardonnay
Terroir
Sandy on schist, 25-year-old vines
Vineyard
Totness
Viticulture
Organic (not certified), dry grown
Winemaking
Whole-bunch pressed and fermented in 680 litre ceramic eggs for two weeks, until the perfect amount of sugar remains to finish fermentation in bottle with a good level of spritz. Aged on lees in bottle for six months and then disgorged.
Dean's Pinot Noir
Variety
Pinot Noir
Terroir
Red clay over sandstone, east-facing
Vineyard
Deans Vineyard, Piccadilly Valley
Viticulture
Organic (not certified), VSP trellis and spur pruned
Winemaking
100% de-stemmed, saignéed and fermented in open-topped wooden fermenter. Ten days on skins with occasional plunging, followed by pressing to old, 500 litre barrels. Wine made of the free run component only.
Jim's Pinot Noir
Variety
Pinot Noir
Terroir
Alluvial sandy soil over sandstone
Vineyard
Cemetery Vineyard, Piccadilly Valley
Viticulture
Organic (not certified), cane pruned.
Winemaking
100% de-stemmed, saignéed and fermented in open-topped wooden barrels. Ten days on skins with occasional plunging, followed by pressing to one old, 500 litre barrel. Wine made of the free run component only.
Gamay
Terroir
Black sand over petrified schist, 25 year old vines.
Vineyard
Robert Surmanns, Totness
Viticulture
Organic, VSP and spur pruned
Winemaking
100% whole-bunch carbonic fermented for 10 days then pressed to 500 litre barrels and aged. The wine is made of the free run component only.
Light Red
Variety
Pinot Gris, Gamay and then some
Terroir
Black sandy soil over petrified schist
Vineyard
Robert Surmanns, Totness
Viticulture
Organic (uncertified), VSP trained and spur pruned
Winemaking
The wine is highly seasonal and varies with each vintage. Designed for early drinking, it mostly sees carbonic maceration and post-ferment has short-term elevage in a 2,200 litre oak barrel.
Merlot
Variety
Merlot
Terroir
Sandy soil, at the top of a hill near the ocean with strong ocean breezes
Vineyard
Magpie Springs, Hope Valley
Viticulture
Organic, vertical shoot positioning trained and spur pruned
Winemaking
100% destemmed, saignéed and fermented in open-topped wooden barrels. Ten days on skins with occasional plunging, followed by pressing to old, 500 litre barrels. Wine made of the free run component only.
Noir de Florette
Variety
Pinot Noir
Terroir
Red clay over sandstone. East facing aspect at the base of a cool, deep valley.
Vineyard
Deans Vineyard, Piccadilly Valley
Winemaking
Made in two parts: half is sagnéed juice poured over berries, with whole bunches and lots of stalks, fermented for 17 days; the other half is carbonically fermented for 4 days in a 2,400 litre wooden barrel. Components pressed and blended together and aged in a 2,000 litre barrel.
Ouef Blanc
Variety
Sauvignon Blanc
Terroir
Sandy top strata on schist. 25 year old vines.
Vineyard
Robert Surmann, Totness
Viticulture
Organic (not certified), dry grown. VSP trained and spur pruned.
Winemaking
De-stemmed fruit left to soak on berries for two weeks, triggering slow, natural fermentation, prior to pressing and aging in 680 litre vitrified ceramic eggs.
Piquette Pétillant Naturel Rouge
Variety
Merlot
Terroir
25 year old vines.
Vineyard
Magpie Springs, Hope Valley
Viticulture
Organic (not certified), dry grown.
Winemaking
Promace (grape skins) replaced in a fermenter after pressing, covered with water and allowed to ferment for four days to extract the remaining sugar and flavour. Wine drained away from the skins, then dosed with a fermenting Merlot juice and bottled. Disgorged after six months secondary fermentation in bottle.
Piquette Pétillant Pinot Gris
Variety
Pinot Gris
Terroir
Sandy strata over schist, 25-year-old vines.
Vineyard
Totness
Viticulture
Organic (not certified), dry grown
Winemaking
De-stemmed fruit left to rest for three days allowing the colour and flavour to bleed into the juice, then fermented in 680 litre ceramic eggs for two weeks until the perfect amount of sugar remains to finish secondary ferment in bottle with a good level of spritz. Aged on lees in bottle for six months and then disgorged.
Sangiovese Stupefacente
Variety
Sangiovese
Terroir
Red clay over sandstone with east-facing aspect, at the bottom of a cold deep valley.
Vineyard
Deans, Piccadilly
Viticulture
Organic (not certified), dry grown. VSP trained and spur pruned.
Winemaking
100% de-stemmed. Berries and juice ferment in a 1500 litre, 100-year-old barrel, then age on skins for four months before pressing.
Wildman Blanc
Variety
Sauvignon Blanc
Terroir
Sandy over schist, 25-year-old vines
Vineyard
Robert Surmann, Totness
Viticulture
Organic (not certified), dry grown, VSP trained, spur pruned.
Winemaking
Whole branches of Sauvignon Blanc bunches are placed in a 2,400 litre wooden fermenter and topped with free-run juice until full, then sealed for carbonic ferment. Aging is for 4 months on macerated whole bunches, before pressing and assemblage in winter.
Sauvignon Blanc Semillon
Terroir
Sandy Soil, 25-years-old
Vineyard
Magpie Springs, Hope Valley
Viticulture
Wild farmed, VSP trained and spur pruned.
Winemaking
Whole-bunch pressed and fermented on Merlot stalks for two weeks, then and aged in a 2000 litre wooden barrel.
Cabernet Franc
Terroir
Black sandy soil over petrified schist.
Vineyard
Robert Surmanns, Totness
Viticulture
Organic, VSP trained and spur pruned
Winemaking
100% carbonic fermentation for 10 days then pressing to a single 500-litre oak barrel for a short-term elevage before a spring release.
Orders
For all order enquiries please get in touch.