Marcell Kustos might be following the path trodden by his winemaking forebears, but he’s certainly taken a detour or two along the way. Born in Hungary, and raised in a family of grape growers and winemakers, he flew the nest to study food technology and business in Budapest, before taking on postgraduate studies in food technology innovation at Wagenigen, the Netherlands. His studies then took him to Adelaide, where he completed a PhD (in collaboration with the famous viticulture and oenology school at University of California, Davis, and Wine Australia) in wine science and sensory marketing, with a focus on the sensory and chemical properties that characterise fine Australian wines of provenance. After graduation, he applied his impressive theoretical acumen to the wine world via stints as head sommelier and beverage director at Penfolds Magill Estate and Restaurant Botanic, respectively, during which time he undertook the famous Len Evans Tutorial. He now plies his trade as a multi-disciplinary consultant for wineries and hospitality venues, as well as making wines for his own label, Lvdo Wines (pronounced ‘ludo’).
The name Lvdo comes from the Latin ludic – ‘to play, challenge, or explore’ – and over the short period of its existence thus far Kustos has certainly ticked all three of those boxes. “At the start I wanted to do as much experimentation as a could to find out what works and what doesn’t,” Kustos says. “More importantly, I wanted to find my path and create a vision with styles and grape varieties I’m passionate for. Back in 2021, I only processed two and a half tonnes of grapes but made seven wines. It served well as an accelerated learning process on a small budget. On the other hand, by 2023 it became clear that three to four of my wines had more potential, and making and selling seven or eight different wines and designing packaging for them distracted me from refining the wines I’m genuinely excited about. I decided to centre my focus and do less, but do it better.”
This winnowed down approach now sees Kustos make four core Lvdo Wines, all of them single-vineyard and sourced from South Australia. There’s a linear, salty white from chardonnay and sauvignon blanc (a traditional Eastern European blend that offers a nod to his Hungarian ancestry); a ‘light dry red’ made from shiraz fermented with small quantities of sangiovese, merlot, nero d’avola and viognier (inspired by the lighter Australian ‘red burgundy’ wines of the 1950s and 1960s such as those made by Maurice O’Shea at Mount Pleasant); an orange/amber wine made from moscato giallo, verdicchio, viognier, and pinot blanc (utilising the relatively niche Loire Valley ‘flotation’ semi-carbonic maceration technique); and a savoury, textural rosé made from shiraz that sees up to eighteen months in barrel, includes a fraction of multi-vintage reserve wines aged under flor for extra savoury complexity, and aims to be Australia’s leading collectable rosé. Other one-off wines are added to the lineup when possible – most recently a Barossa cabernet shiraz blend that both tips its hat to the Australian tradition of blending these two varieties and bucks the weighty, extracted trend of these blends by vinifying the shiraz fraction as a rosé and part of the cabernet under carbonic maceration. It’s a small lineup, but one that shows serious thought and consideration on Kustos’s part – not to mention a certain amount of bravery in terms of techniques.
“I believe unique wines are born from ambition and a healthy dose of imagination – therefore, copying the wines of Provence or any other successful rosé in the market is unlikely to do the job.”
Of these wines, Kustos considers his rosé the most ambitious – and its genesis illustrates the thought processes that go into all of Lvdo’s wines. “In my sommelier days, I was fortunate to taste and drink some stunning Australian benchmarks for chardonnay, pinot noir, grenache, shiraz, et cetera,” Kustos says. “I realised, though, that we didn’t have a rosé that gets people excited at every release, and that section of the wine list was heavily import-dominated. I also thought there was an opportunity to champion Australian rosé and make a serious, complex version that is worth placing in the cellar for a few years for increased drinking pleasure. That’s how my ambitious goal to make Australia’s first collectable rosé was born. I also believe unique wines are born from ambition and a healthy dose of imagination – therefore, copying the wines of Provence or any other successful rosé in the market is unlikely to do the job.”
Having set himself the task, Kustos set about dialling in the winemaking techniques that would deliver his vision. “Over the years, I took a little detail of each wine [style] (sparkling, white, rosé, red, fortified) that I found inspirational for making a collectable rose and started to look for the right vineyard,” he says. “The winemaking is a culmination of all techniques I have played with since 2021: whole bunch pressed, wild-fermented and aged in various formats of ancient barrels.” He layers on texture with techniques appropriated from Champagne and Jerez: “I also started a perpetual reserve in 2021 that I’ve been using akin to non-vintage Champagne to add complexity, savouriness and texture, although in small (5-10%) portions,” Kustos adds. “A year later I encouraged flor development on this perpetual reserve – like a mini version of Sherry solera.” These international influences and willingness to embrace techniques from outside of traditional Australian rosé production results in an utterly idiosyncratic – and deliciously challenging – finished product. “While it’s a different style from most Australian rosés, every step was taken with intention and deliberation to make a serious, complex, unique wine,” he says.
“I believe the best sites in the New World are yet to be discovered, and my future vineyard might be somewhere in South Australia that is possibly not yet part of a wine region.”
Despite this level of considered experimentation in the winery, Kustos’s practices are distinctly lo-fi rather than high-tech, with his scientifically-grounded imagination rather than laboratory equipment doing the heavy lifting. “Everything starts with organically/biodynamically farmed vineyards specifically chosen for the style of wine,” he says. “It’s crucial for me to oversee the whole process from growing, to harvest, to making and bottling. Perhaps my winemaking is best described as natural or low-interventionist, focusing on purity and texture. All movements are done by gravity, and all wines are fermented with ambient yeast, unfined and unfiltered. The only additive is sulphur in small quantities – depending on acidity and mainly before bottling, but usually up to 30 parts per million.” The labels feature watercolour artworks by Kustos himself, based on microscopic photos of wine ferments from his time as a wine scientist – “to express winemaking as the intersection of science and art,” as he puts it. “I think there are many similarities with other low-intervention winemakers in terms of growing and making,” Kustos adds. What sets my wines apart is ambition and imagination.”
The small scale of Lvdo’s production, matched with his idiosyncratic methods and ambitions, mean that the wines aren’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. “Nor are they meant to be,” Kustos says, “but they will likely create conversations around style and varietal expression.” His wine have found eager buyers across Australia already – including, appropriately enough for this ex-sommelier, a significant amount of restaurant wine lists. As for what’s next, Kustos isn’t backwards in coming forwards about his ambitions: “I’d love to have a small vineyard at a high altitude,” he says. “I believe the best sites in the New World are yet to be discovered, and my future vineyard might be somewhere in South Australia that is possibly not yet part of a wine region. I also think that we tend to draw inspiration from – or sometimes blindly follow – Old World wine styles when there is so much history to be celebrated in our backyard.” He points to the longevity of the Australian ‘red burgundies’ and ‘clarets’ of the 1950s and 1960s. “Many of these 12% ABV wines are still alive and humming today if stored appropriately,” he says. “My dream is to resurrect these styles with my unique take on them – maybe even make a fine white blend from old-vine ancient fortified varieties such as palomino, pedro ximinez, and sercial to honour South Australia’s rich heritage!” It’s clear that Kustos is accustomed to achieving whatever he sets his formidable mind on – watch this space.
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