Matassa Blossom 2024

Domaine Matassa was founded by Tom Lubbe, a New Zealand winemaker who settled in the Roussillon region of southern France after learning his trade at Domaine Gauby. He farms with respect for the land and works with minimal intervention. Blossom is made from Muscat à Petits Grains, here named Moscatel de Grano Menudo, a small-berried Muscat prized for its intense floral perfume. The schist and granite soils of the Roussillon and the warm Mediterranean climate, tempered by altitude and mountain wind, give ripe but fresh fruit. The wine is made naturally as an orange wine with light skin contact, then aged four months in foudre. Skin contact extracts a measure of phenolics and gentle tannin from the grape skins, adding texture and a faint grip without heavy structure, while the large old foudre allows slow oxygen exchange without imparting oak flavour. At just ten per cent alcohol the wine is delicate and aromatic. It is pale gold in the glass, with white flowers, orange peel, white peach and elderflower on the nose. The palate is light, dry and floral, with a soft, textured finish. Serve well chilled at 8 to 10 degrees.