Thierry Puzelat: Vineyards
Looking solely at the vineyards of Clos du Tue-Boeuf, these amount to 10 hectares entitled to the Cheverny appellation, and the Puzelat brothers also rent another 6 hectares of Touraine vineyards nearby. The owned vineyards are located very close to Les Montils, upstream of Tours, and sit on the banks of the Beuvron, a small tributary which flows into the Loire just after Candé-sur-Beuvron. This is Cheverny country (the contiguous settlements of Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny are just a few miles to the east of Les Montils), and thus these vineyards are dominated by the main varieties eligible for this appellation.
White Cheverny is predominantly Sauvignon Blanc; of the eligible blending varieties it is Chardonnay that is the most commonly encountered, while both Menu Pineau and Chenin Blanc tend to play more minor roles. Nevertheless, all can be found planted here. Red Cheverny is principally Gamay and Pinot Noir, with Cabernet Franc and Côt blended in, and for rosé the regulations are a little more loose, also allowing in Pineau d’Aunis. It is Gamay and Pinot Noir that dominate in the vineyard.
Whereas many of the local vignerons acquiesced and ripped out the varieties that didn’t fit this new schema introduced in 1993, when the Cheverny appellation was promoted from its Vin Délimité de Qualité Supérieure status, the Puzelat family carried on with their vineyards as they stood. In doing so they effectively became guardians of an ancient part of the Loire’s heritage, tending indigenous varieties such as Menu Pineau and Pineau d’Aunis which others pulled up to replant with more ‘acceptable’ commercial varieties.
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