Matassa "Cuvee Marguerite" 2025

Press 2 • June/July 2024 Direct Press Selection

Tom Lubbe is a Kiwi ex-pat making wine in France's Roussillon and for several decades he has been lighting up the natural wine community with his Matassa label. These wines have become more sought-after in the past few years, and we hate to tell you, but the hype is well-deserved.

His philosophy in terms of farming has always been thoughtful and non-conformist. Worms and cover crops are what he sees as the most transformative elements in keeping his land healthy; he hasn't used any sulfur since 2015. Fires exacerbated by drought conditions came for his vines in 2022, wiping out significant portions of vineyards. In August 2022 he said, "apart from the vineyards touched by fire and wild pigs it looks like a lovely year so far." 

The wines have a buoyant, lighthearted bent which belies Tom's earnest vineyard work and land stewardship. They are complex and reflect terroir but this is usually overshadowed by how delicious and pleasurable they are. Matassa wines rarely fail to deliver, on their own or with sophisticated cuisine composed on small plates with tweezers. Whether at Septime, Frenchette, or in Brooklyn apartments, they bring joy to the table.

Cuvee Marguerite is a blend of Macabeu, Muscat d’Alexandria, Muscat Petit Grain co-fermented on their skins for 5-7 days in concrete then aged on their lees in large used oak foudres. The resulting wine is complex yet immediately accessible with tropical fruit wafting out of the glass and flavors of salty cooked pineapple, herbs, and soft yet present tannins.  Jonathan Kemp & Jeremy Hernandez