Matassa Rufo 2023
25.60₣ (Exc. VAT bot. 75 cl.) / Switzerland
8 for immediate shipment. More, available on 06/05/2025
Features
Type of wine
Pairings
Style
Occasions
Winery
Size
Country
Region
Appellation
Alcohol
10.0%
Grapes
Serving
Between 6ºC and 8ºC
Winemaking
50% direct pressing, 50% skin soaking for 4 days. Free run fermented with indigenous yeasts and aged on the lees for 9 months in concrete tanks and 500 litre barrels. Bottled unfined, unfiltered and without added sulphites.
Description
Matassa Rufo is one of those bottles that cannot be fully explained with words, but with landscapes, silences and radical decisions. Born in the wild hills of Roussillon, in the south of France, this wine is the work of Tom Lubbe, a New Zealander-South African who found his place in the world at Calce. His story is almost novelistic: after working at the iconic South African winery The Observatory, Tom travelled to France for an internship at Domaine Gauby... and never returned. He fell in love with the terroir, a local woman, and the possibility of making wines that spoke softly, but deeply.
Matassa' s philosophy is uncompromising: old vines, biodynamic agriculture, minimal intervention, spontaneous fermentations, no added sulphites. Matassa Rufo is a tribute to the rustic and rebellious character of this corner of the Mediterranean. It comes from Macabeu vines planted on terraces on slate and schist soils, poor, broken, those that force the roots to look deep. The plots are at altitude, where the tramontana wind cleans and cools, providing a vibrant tension that runs through the wine.
Winemaking
The grapes are harvested by hand, in small crates, with an almost obsessive selection process. 50% of the bunches are pressed directly, while the other 50% macerate with the skins for 4 days, without destemming. There is no violent pumping over or aggressive extractions, just patient waiting for the wine to find its voice. Fermentation takes place spontaneously, with indigenous yeasts, in cement tanks and open vats. Matassa Rufo is then aged for several months in old foudres and demi-muids, without fining, without filtering, without adding sulphites. A naked wine, which hides nothing, and whose purity is due as much to the respect in the cellar as to the vitality of the vineyard.
Taste
When served, Matassa Rufo is delicately cloudy, with a golden, luminous, almost solar hue, the result of its light maceration. The nose is expressive but not strident: orange peel, pink grapefruit, a touch of fresh camomile and that subtle perfume of Mediterranean herbs - sage, rock tea, dried fig leaves -that seems to float on a background of wet stone. There is a sharp, saline nuance reminiscent of the sea air on the cliffs of Roussillon.
On the palate, Rufo has a fascinating texture: not oily, but enveloping. The brief maceration gives it a light grip, a tactile vibrancy that coexists with a clean, citric acidity that lengthens the palate and refreshes. The bitter orange comes back, along with an echo of raw almond and a whisper of yeast, as if the memory of time on the lees remains. A tense, saline finish, with a persistence that invites you to think. Perfect with cured cheeses, pickles, ceviches or simply to accompany an afternoon of contemplation. A white wine that vibrates with raw, unadorned energy.
Shipping to Switzerland
50% discount on orders over 378.09₣*Estimated transit time: 6-7 working days.
| Bottles | Price | Over 378.09₣* |
|---|---|---|
| 1-6 | 22.83₣ | 11.41₣ (-11.41₣) |
| 7-12 | 28.26₣ | 14.13₣ (-14.13₣) |
| 13-18 | 34.88₣ | 17.44₣ (-17.44₣) |
| 19-24 | 43.86₣ | 21.93₣ (-21.93₣) |
| 25-30 | 49.15₣ | 24.58₣ (-24.58₣) |
| 31-36 | 54.82₣ | 27.41₣ (-27.41₣) |
| 37-42 | 58.60₣ | 29.30₣ (-29.30₣) |
| 43-48 | 60.49₣ | 30.25₣ (-30.25₣) |
| 49-54 | 66.17₣ | 33.08₣ (-33.08₣) |
| 55-60 | 71.84₣ | 35.92₣ (-35.92₣) |
| VAT not included | ||
** Shipments to Switzerland include transport costs, insurance and export costs (SAD in origin), but not customs duties (SAD at destination) and local taxes.
***At Gourmet Hunters wine prices are exempt from 21% VAT for all shipments to Switzerland. Once in your shopping cart select Switzerland as delivery address to enjoy your order tax free.
