Lucy M
Adelaide Hills, South Australia.
Available in Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, Northern Territory, ACT.
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
Gamay Nouveau
Variety
Gamay
Terroir
Black sand over petrified schist, 30 year old vines.
Vineyard
Pooks Hill, Totness
Viticulture
Organic, VSP and spur pruned
Winemaking
100% whole bunches semi carbolic in a fibreglass fermentor for a few days then pressed and aged in ceramic eggs.
Noir de Florette
Variety
Pinot Noir
Terroir
Red clay over sandstone. Gentle northerly facing aspect at the base of a cool, deep valley.
Vineyard
Carey Gully, Adelaide Hills
Viticulture
V.S.P. trellis and spur pruned
Winemaking
The pinot is 100% destemmed, fermented in large wooden open-top barrels and plunged once a day. Components pressed and blended together and aged in a 2,000 litre barrel.
Fumé Blanc
Variety
50% Sauvignon Blanc, 50% Pinot Blanc
Terroir
30-year old vines grown on Black Sandy soil overlying petrified schist
Vineyard
Pooks Hill, Totness
Viticulture
VSP trained and spur pruned
Winemaking
Whole bunch pressed and fermented a 2000L oak barrels, then racked and aged with ullage for oxidative characters.
Rosé Classique
Variety
Syrah
Terroir
Younger vines sit over deep red clay.
Vineyard
Brackenwood, Hope Forest
Winemaking
The grapes were whole bunched pressed and aged in a vitrified ceramic egg.
Homeblock
Variety
Field Blend: Trousseau, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Cab Franc, Gamay
Terroir
The bush vines see occasional biodynamic preparations and sit over red clay soils.
Vineyard
Lucy Margaux Farm, Basket Range
Winemaking
The wine was fermented in ceramic vessels and pressed off using a basket press before maturation (again) in ceramic eggs.
Hillside Pinot Blend
Variety
75% Pinot Noir, 15% Cabernet Franc and 10% Syrah
Terroir
The Cabernet Franc vines are 35 years old on petrified schist
Vineyard
The Pinot Noir is from the Deans in Carey Gully, while the Cabernet Franc is grown in Pooks Hill, Totness
Viticulture
V.S.P trained and spur-pruned.
Winemaking
The Pinot was destemmed and fermented in open-top barrels with daily plunges before pressing into ceramic vessels for maturation.
Cidre
Variety
60% Apples, 35% Pears, 5% Quinces
Vineyard
The Lucy Margaux farm, Basket Range
Winemaking
Crushed and left on pulp for one day, the pressed into ceramic. Bottles early to give a nature sparkle and disgorged to remove the lees.
Orders
For all order enquiries please get in touch.