Domaine Matassa Wine Review
Guest Post!
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-Eoghan x
One of my favourite aspects of life, ruled by scrolls and double taps, is how interconnected we all are - it has never been easier to get in touch with like-minded people through a simple dm. Yes, they might not get back to you. Most don’t, but the few that do are the kind of high-quality individuals you want to be mixing and collaborating with anyway, think of it as a quality control exercise.
That’s how today’s guest wine enthusiast and I first connected, it’s also how he’s now become a natural wine aficionado chomping at the bit to talk, drink and post about natural wine at any given moment. Since we connected over a year ago, through TikTok, Daniel has been so fucking curious and enthusiastic, he oftentimes gives me a kick up the arse when it comes to my wine research and content creation!
Throughout the rest of the year, expect to hear more from Daniel Lund through the wineletter, podcast, and of course - his own wine channels. But for now, get stuck into the lad’s first-ever long-form wine review.
Domaine Matassa - Olla Rouge 2020
Hey everyone! Want to start this review by thanking Eoghan for letting me write a piece on a wine I've tried recently.
A little bit about me, I’m a DevOps Engineer by trade which means up until a year ago I didn’t know anything about wine. My near obsession with natural wine started with a visit to the restaurant Upstairs at Landrace based in Bath (Huge shoutout to Jules, Rob and the rest of the team). Since then I’ve tried my best to learn as much as I can about natural wine and that’s where I came across Eoghan and his brilliant natural wine content on TikTok.
The wine I’ve chosen to review is Olla Rouge 2020 from the sought-after winery Domaine Matassa. Founded by New Zealanders Tom Lubbe and Sam Harrop, Domaine Matassa is known for their balanced, approachable wines which are high-quality expressions of local grapes from the Roussillon region such as Carignan, Macabeo and Grenache. Tom grew up in South Africa which is where he first gained some winemaking experience, this was followed by an internship at Domaine Gauby where he stayed on as a cellar hand for 3 consecutive vintages (Source: https://morenaturalwine.co.uk/collections/matassa).
Tom loves to make wines he likes to drink himself, ‘pale reds and dark whites’ which offer a freshness that combats the hot climate in Roussillon, harvesting the grapes earlier than most, the resulting wines are typical of lower ABV (rarely above 12%). Highly adaptive in both the vineyard and the cellar, Tom works with all types of vessels including large wooden barrels, barrique, clay and concrete, but fibreglass is his preference, finding it more neutral than stainless steel (Source: https://offgrid.wine/collections/domaine-matassa)
Olla Rouge is my first experience with Domaine Matassa’s offerings. A bright, light red consisting of Grenache Noir, Grenache Gris and Macabeo, co-fermented in concrete and with a three-day maceration. Pressed and racked back into concrete for ageing. In the glass it is a lovely cranberry red, this entry-level Matassa cuvee is perfect for enjoying slightly chilled. On the nose is a lovely aroma of red berries and fruits with a slight herbiness and very little tannins. On the palate, those bright berries and red fruits sing true making you long for summer heat surrounded by friends, the tail brings out herb notes such as thyme and rosemary.
Overall, a fantastic introduction to Domaine Matassa’s wines, a wild, fruit-forward red wine that for me falls into that glouglou category, best drunk on its own rather than with food and perfect for sharing with friends.
I don’t know about you, but that review has me sweating for a glass of chilled red… nicely done Dan.
You can find more of Daniel’s wine content at his wine account on Instagram, or reach out to him personally right here.
That will be all for this week folks, enjoy your weekend and I’ll chat with you all next week!