2023 Clos du-Tue-Boeuf Cheverny Blanc Frileuse

This wine is produced by Jean-Marie and Thierry Puzelat from their centuries-old family estate in Les Montils (Cheverny AOC) and an adjacent rented site in Touraine, Loire, France. The estate’s long history is recorded from the Middle Ages, with the Tue-Boeuf vineyard, notably its frost-prone Frileuse site (3.8 hectares), playing a key role in its legacy. The wine is a blend of equal thirds of Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Fié Gris—the historical designation for a softer styled Sauvignon variant—cultivated on soils dominated by sticky clay and flint. Vines range in age from 15 to 55 years, with most falling between 20 and 35 years old. The vineyard is managed organically with hand harvesting. In the winery, the bunches are partly left as whole clusters and partly destemmed, followed by a 2–3 day maceration period to initiate spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, all conducted without added sulfur in large oak tanks. The wine is then aged for 8–9 months in used demi-muids and Burgundy barrels, with occasional lees stirring and without racking, before being bottled unfiltered with little to no sulfur.