Clos du Tue-Boeuf Party by Mykola Chobanu

City-dwelling wine lovers are blessed ones. These folks can enjoy the harvest festival multiple times a year. You can gather for another feast whenever there are new arrivals. Ok, I am a bit slow-poking today. Yet Vova Ulianov pushed some of the strings to make it happen - a wine-tasting party dedicated to Clos du Tue-Boeuf. The 2022 vintage meets a few older bottles.

Over the internet, people repeat the same mantra all over again. Clos du Tue-Boeuf is a project from Loire Valley (France, I guess) run by Jean-Marie and Thierry Puzelat brothers. Mykola Chobanu shares that it's not the case because one of the brothers has retired. Your task is to figure out which one has stayed at the estate.

In any case, they (one of the brothers with his wife and kids) tend their 10-hectare family estate in Les Montils (part of the Cheverny AOC) and rent four hectares in a village nearby to produce Touraine AOC. One can quickly distinguish the origin of the wine by looking at the estate name. If it's at the top of the front label - it's estate-sourced wine.

Jean-Marie and Thierry are (or at least were) firm believers in the AOC system regulating winemaking. It's a controversial topic, so let's avoid making any judgement here and take the fact that our protagonists are believers. Cheverny AOC was formed in 1993, and some of the grapes were outlawed right away. Now the irony. Since the 60s, the Puzelats' father had been planting various vines, including later outlawed ones. Some would call him short-sighted. Some would say that not everyone can look into tomorrow's day. As a result, today, some of their wines must be marked as table wines. The good part, Clos du Tue-Boeuf are stars of the natural wine movement. And (hopefully) they don't have financial problems despite most of their wines being denominated.

Anyways, meet the protagonists of the evening!

Clos du Tue-Boeuf Pineau de Loire 2021

Talk about evolution. Almost a year turned this wine into a quite sophisticated and expressive beauty. A herbaceous and intense bouquet of green grass, bell pepper, cream, moss, wet stone, and oat flakes. As you see, quite expressive and rich. On the palate, it offers a high acidity with good balance, a bit narrowed and sharp profile. The aftertaste is long with flavours of wet stone, lemon candy and canned pineapple. Great start to the evening.

Clos du Tue-Boeuf Cheverny Frileuse 2018

Strangely, this wine has not changed that much. Wet stones, lime juice, grass, basil (someone said, I am obligated to repeat), brioche and a charming marzipan touch. And while its bouquet is less pompous than the one of Pineau de Loire 2021, it has a better-structured palate. Round with flavours of honey, brioche, wet stones and melon. Good acidity, but could be higher.

Clos du Tue-Boeuf Le Petit Buisson 2022

A bit restrained bouquet of citrus, grass, fennel, smoke, cider, and wet stones. Round and intense palate, good balance, long aftertaste. Simple, good and a bit creamy. A bit of irony in the finish, mixed with white pepper. No irony here, it's tasty.

Clos du Tue-Boeuf Le Brin de Chèvre Menu Pineau 2018

Beautiful, complex and strange (in a good way) bouquet. The first sniff is like medicines, clean hospital, rubber and wet wool. And then it opens up with lemon, sea breeze, and a wet cellar covered in moss. Almost perfectly balanced, well-structured, round and intense. long aftertaste with flavours of Jerez, honey, lemon candy and sweet mustard. Maybe it's not the best wine out in the wild, but a hell of an emotional roller coaster.

Clos du Tue-Boeuf Vin Rosé 2022

Bring me to an island with a single palm and I will kill myself with this wine. This heavy alcohol will destroy my self-consciousness under the hard sun and blabbering I will dive into blissful (hey, I am on an island) emptiness. Restrained and straightforward rosé. Red berries, cream and unbalanced ethanol.

Clos du Tue-Boeuf Vin Rouge 2022

And here we are, failing to guess the vintage. In my experience, every year is different. This one is charming in its calmness and honesty. Red flowers, blood, cherry candy. Simple, but beautiful. Clean and delicious.

Clos du Tue-Boeuf Vin Rouge 2021

And here we are, failing to guess the vintage. In my experience, every year is different. A midnight kiss with a horse arse. A lovely act full of brett, Nordic red berries and sweat (hopefully, belonging to the horse). A bit simple, lacks balance, and ethanol is over the limits. Long and warming aftertaste. A bit fizzy without any warning.

Clos du Tue-Boeuf Cheverny Rouillon 2022

Red flowers, hibiscus, blood, plum, bark, musk. Good acidity, a bit of rough tannin, requires decanting, juicy palate, good acidity, long aftertaste. Nice and beautiful stuff.

Clos du Tue-Boeuf Grenache 2021

Marmalade made of dark berries, liquorice, mulberry, and fried sunflower seeds. Simple bouquet. A bit bubble-gum-ish on the palate, tannic and juicy. Simple and easy-going.

Raw scores