Lucy M 'La Sarriette' Pinot Blanc 2022
The Wine
100% Pinot Blanc from Robert Surmann’s vineyard in Totness, which has 30 y/o vines grown on black sandy soil overlying petrified schist, it is V.S.P.-trained, and spur pruned. The fruit is whole bunched pressed and fermented in a 2000 litre foudre and then aged on lees. The wine is only the free run fraction. Lucy M
Who would have thought that Pinot Blanc, which has a tendency to run down the tropical spectrum also possesses a tense and taut under belly. This is an essay in nervous energy. Yes, its slept-on lees for a bit, but its electric acidity dominates - and it’s a nice acidity too. Had this with a range of Japanese tapas - a Tsunami of refreshment, the antitheist of the archetypical Pinot Blanc. Another expression to add in the mix - and a tick from me! TC
The Details
Variety - Pinot Blanc
Country - Australia
Region - South Australia
Sub Region - Adelaide Hills
Extra - Cork
Year - 2022
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.
