# Blossom (2025)

- **Producer:** Domaine Matassa
- **Colour:** orange
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains
- **Region:** Languedoc-Roussillon, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 10.0%
- **Average price:** €34
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** No
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 10–12 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** blossom, elderflower, orange, apricot, rose, herbaceous, resinous

## About this wine

Domaine Matassa was established in 2003 by New Zealander Tom Lubbe alongside his wife Nathalie in the Roussillon region of Southern France. Widely recognized as a pioneer of the modern natural wine movement, Lubbe crafts Blossom from old Muscat vines grown on red slate and schist soils near Espira-de-l'Agly. Farmed biodynamically and harvested early in the season to maintain natural freshness and low alcohol, this micro-allocation orange wine offers an authentic, artisanal expression of Catalan terroir.

## Interesting facts

- Grapes are hand-harvested early in the season to maintain electric acidity and keep alcohol low at just 10% ABV.
- Domaine Matassa founder Tom Lubbe is widely considered a founding pioneer of the French natural wine movement.
- Grown on 40+ year-old gobelet bush vines planted on high-elevation slate and red schist soils.
- This cuvée undergoes 15 days of whole-cluster skin maceration to achieve fine tea-like tannins and orange color.

## Food pairing

The wine's vibrant acidity and subtle skin-contact tannins complement delicate proteins and cut through rich, oily seafood. Its botanical and floral aroma profile echoes fresh herbal garnishes, citrus dressings, and savory Romesco sauce without overwhelming the palate.

## Wine making process

Crafted using 100% whole-cluster, un-destemmed Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains grapes subjected to 15 days of skin maceration. Fermentation occurs spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in oak foudres and cement tanks without temperature control or chemical additions. The wine ages for four months on its fine lees in neutral oak foudres and concrete vessels before bottling unfined, unfiltered, and with no added sulfites.