At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Roussillon, France
- Commune
- Calce
- Main grapes
- Grenache Gris, Macabeu, Grenache and Carignan
- White cuvée
- Matassa Blanc 2024
- Defining feature
- Certified organic vineyards with infusion led cellar work
The Producer
Domaine Matassa works from Calce in Roussillon, with certified organic vineyards and a low intervention cellar. Its red wines prioritize whole cluster infusions over forceful maceration and extraction, while white grapes are often co fermented. Whole cluster means that stems remain with the grapes during fermentation, a technique that can bring perfume and spice. When oak is used, its role is oxygen exposure.
The wines are made from varieties including Grenache Gris, Macabeu, Grenache and Carignan. Matassa keeps the vineyard work close to the ground, using mulched pruning wood and winter cover crops alongside certified organic farming.
Place
Domaine Matassa is located in the commune of Calce, in the heart of Roussillon, France. Calce is the local place name, while Roussillon identifies the wider regional setting around the domaine.
Soil And Site
The original Matassa vineyard stood high in the hills, surrounded by forest, and was planted to Carignan vines more than a century old. That vineyard supplied the project with its name.
Story
Before establishing Matassa, Tom Lubbe undertook an internship at Domaine Gauby. Gérard Gauby then asked him to return for three consecutive vintages as a cellar hand. In 2003, Tom Lubbe, Nathalie Gauby and Sam Harrop founded Matassa. The new domaine brought Lubbe's cellar experience together with Nathalie Gauby and Sam Harrop in Calce.
Vineyards And Cellar
Matassa cultivates 20 hectares of certified organic vineyards. Pruning wood is chopped and used as mulch, while a winter cover crop is sown to increase organic matter. The work returns plant material to the soil and keeps the vineyard floor covered through winter.
For the reds, whole cluster infusions take precedence over maceration and extraction, with white grapes often co fermented. When oak appears, it is used for oxygen exposure. Concrete provides another vessel for fermentation and ageing in the range.
Wines
The range includes Matassa Blanc 2024 and Olla Rouge 2024. Matassa Blanc 2024 is a white wine aged in tonneaux, while Olla Rouge 2024 is fermented and aged in concrete. The two bottles place white and red wines in different cellar vessels without requiring the range to be described through a single ageing method.
In The Glass
Matassa Blanc 2021 opens with orange, white peach, apricot, pear and citrus, followed by flint at the finish. The palate is concentrated and balanced, with high acidity and fruit expressed through pear and green apple.
Olla Rouge 2024 is light bodied and delicate, with lively acidity and no oak. Its aromas include currant, blueberry, wild berries, cherry, confectionery, strawberry and pink pepper. The palate is fresh and salty, with the acidity keeping the wine bright.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose Matassa Blanc 2024. It is made from equal parts Grenache Gris and Macabeu, with the two grapes receiving different cellar treatments. The Grenache Gris is direct pressed, while the Macabeu receives four to five days of maceration. Indigenous yeast fermentation and completed malolactic conversion precede assembly before élevage, followed by eight months in tonneaux.
Tonneaux are oak casks that allow gradual oxygen exposure during ageing. This bottle puts direct pressing, skin contact, malolactic conversion and oak élevage into one white wine.
Anecdote
In 2008, Matassa made Alexandria, its first skin macerated white. Skin maceration keeps the fermenting wine in contact with the grape skins, bringing colour, texture and additional extraction compared with direct pressing alone. Alexandria established a technique that was later applied across the white wine range. The cuvée marked a change in the way Matassa handled white grapes, with the skins remaining part of the fermentation instead of being separated immediately.
Final Word
Domaine Matassa joins Calce and certified organic farming with infusion led reds, a white cuvée aged in tonneaux and a red cuvée fermented and aged in concrete.
Sources
- louisdressner.com/producers/matassa
- www.mareehaute.vin/en/collections/domaine-matassa
- www.littlewine.io/winemaker-magazine/matassa
- oenopole.ca/les-vins-disponibles/fiche/domaine-matassa-matassa-blanc
- www.botilia.gr/en/p/white-wine/Matassa-Blanc
- www.naturalwineco.com/producer/matassa-101344
- www.saq.com/fr/14956046
- www.tesoridivillasostaga.it/en/selection-wines-spirits-online/olla-rouge-2024