Variety: Syrah & Muscat Petit Grains

Tom, a native South African, began his winemaking journey with Louise Hofmeyer, a last name that makes natural wine lovers’ ears prick up in South Africa. Learning under the first South African domaine to use indigenous yeast set the tone for Tom and all he would do as a winemaker in the future. The Hofmeyer stint led to a 3 month stage at Domaine Gauby in the south of France. That 3 months turned into three years and a new life with Gauby daughter Nathalie, who he married and has two children with.

Being who he is and coming where he comes from means that locality and terroir would always be Tom Lubbe’s focus. So it makes sense that Domaine Matassa works with old vines of traditional Catalan varieties: Carignan, Grenache, Macabeu, Grenache Gris, Muscat d'Alexandrie and Muscat de Petits-Grains. Also soil health is fundamental and Matassa employs biodynamic techniques to ensure that robustness.

Domaine Matassa consists of about 20 hectares mostly on schist, marl and black slate. Old vine varieties that produce less fruit create wines of concentration and depth. These vines have dug their roots deep into this Roussillon soil and Matassa does most of its work at the soil level.

The same low-intervention approach follows the grapes to the winery. While Tom uses many vessels for fermentation; large barrique, clay and concrete vessels and barrels, he prefers fiberglass for most selections as it is the most transparent of vessels, lending almost no character to the wine and allowing the grape and terroir to fully shine through.

Originally part of the “Brutal” wine series, started in Barcelona to highlight great selections in the natural wine scene, “Tommy Ferriol” is classically Matassa. Mostly Syrah with a few gulps of Muscat Petit Grains is how Tom Lubbe approaches making red wines meant to stand up to the Cote Catalan heat. The syrah and muscat petit grains are co-fermented whole cluster for four days. The wine is then pressed and racked into fiberglass aging vessels. Unfined, unfiltered, unsulfured.