# Olla Blanc (2025)

- **Producer:** Domaine Matassa
- **Colour:** orange
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Macabeu, Muscat à Petits Grains
- **Region:** Languedoc-Roussillon, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 10.5%
- **Average price:** €28
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** No
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 8–10 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** elderflower, grapefruit, orange, apricot, pineapple

## About this wine

Domaine Matassa was founded in the early 2000s by New Zealander Tom Lubbe and his wife Nathalie Gauby in the Roussillon region of southern France. Located around Calce and Espira-de-l'Agly, the estate works with high-elevation, old mountain vines planted on schist, limestone, and iron-rich clay soils. Lubbe is a pioneer in low-intervention winemaking, celebrated for harvesting early to retain vibrant acidity and moderate alcohol levels, offering a fresh, energetic alternative to traditional full-bodied Mediterranean wines.

## Interesting facts

- Winemaker Tom Lubbe moved from South Africa to Roussillon after completing an internship at Domaine Gauby.
- The grapes are picked as early as August to keep alcohol levels low and acidity vibrant.
- No sulfur dioxide is added at any point during production, relying on pristine fruit for natural preservation.

## Food pairing

The combination of vibrant acidity, floral Muscat aromatics, and fine tea-like tannins from skin contact cuts through oiliness in grilled seafood and complements fresh herbs, citrus, and light spices in Southeast Asian and Mediterranean dishes.

## Wine making process

Olla Blanc is crafted using whole-cluster skin contact. Hand-harvested early in the morning to preserve fresh fruit acidity, the unstemmed grapes undergo spontaneous fermentation with wild native yeasts. Maceration takes place gently to extract delicate tea-like tannins and subtle copper color without harsh bitterness. The wine rests for eight months on fine lees in concrete tanks and traditional lagares, bottled completely unfined, unfiltered, and without any added sulfur dioxide.