Why it matters
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 and vineyards
Where the wines begin
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.
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.
In the cellar
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 to know
The range in view
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.
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.