French Disko rouge VdF 2023

Wine description for French Disko VdF rouge 2023 by Matassa

Colour & appearance

Ruby red with rusty reflections, a pale rim and a fine, natural haze – unadorned, just as it comes from the cellar.

Nose

Dark, wild and spicy all at once: cardamom, clove, cinnamon and black pepper over blackcurrant, cassis, blackberry and plum. Alongside these, balsamic to animal notes – warm leather, liquorice, a hint of farmyard – and grated chocolate, lending depth rather than sweetness. Inviting and accessible.

Palate

Cool-flowing, with astonishing grip and substance for just 10 per cent alcohol. Delicate, thoughtfully integrated bitterness, salted almond, restrained fruit – the garrigue takes the lead. A raisiny undertone, crisp, cool and immensely drinkable.

Finish

Herbal, pleasantly bitter in the best sense, with an animal echo and an almost raisiny freshness. Immediately makes you want another sip.

Terroir & origin

Domaine Matassa cultivates around 20 hectares of scattered plots in the hills surrounding Calce and Espira-de-l’Agly in Roussillon – nestled amongst Mediterranean maquis, cedars, fig trees and wild rosemary. The soils of schist and marl, partly black, inscribe minerality into the glass; some higher-altitude vineyard sites ensure cool nights and tension. Certified by Ecocert, with cover cropping, compost and patient manual labour.

Grape variety & vinification

Pure Cinsault – a variety that Tom Lubbe presents quite differently from what one might expect: dark and spicy rather than merely light. As with all Matassa wines, fermentation is spontaneous, filtration and fining are eschewed, and since 2015 not a drop of sulphur has been added in the cellar. Early harvesting is a guiding principle here: while Roussillon often pursues power, Lubbe opts for freshness – this cuvée remains at a slender 10.0% abv.

Food recommendations

Served lightly chilled, it is a brilliant everyday wine with lamb chops with rosemary, pizza with fennel salami, merguez or ratatouille. Also a delight alongside charcuterie and piquant hard cheese.

Special characteristics

The name sets the tone in a figurative sense: a disco-ready red wine – light on its feet in terms of alcohol, yet anything but banal. The rare combination of animal wildness, spice intensity and feather-light drinkability makes it the archetype of what Matassa is celebrated for, from Parisian bistros to Noma: Roussillon as it tastes when one refuses to surrender to the sun.