Lucy M 'Syrah de Terre' 2023
The Wine
Anton sources his Syrah from younger vines in the biodynamically farmed Brackenwood Vineyard, nestled high in the Adelaide Hills in Hope Forest on soils of deep red clay. The fruit is destemmed to an open jarrah fermenter and foot-stomped daily. After a few weeks, the wine is pressed to French barrels for maturation.
Anton’s notes: Pliny the Elder would have loved this ancient, reduced, tight, rustic impression of Syrah. In every drinking house since the Romans first planted this grape in Côte-Rôtie, the earth has risen through the vines and into our veins and nourished our connection to the ancients.
Wines like those from Lucy M communicate and exist through a unique language that differs completely from traditional vinous expressions. These are wines meant to be lived and experienced, not scored with numerical ratings. It's beneficial to be multilingual in this sense. Take the time to learn and appreciate this distinctly different dialect. TC
The Details
Variety - Shiraz
Country - Australia
Region - South Australia
Sub Region - Adelaide Hills
Extra - Cork
Year - 2023
Volume - 750ml
About the Wine Maker 
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 including some that are aged in large-format oak and concrete eggs. All preceding to bottling without fining or filtering. They are unapologetic for what they are and that’s exactly how Anton intends it to be.
