Cheverny Rouge "La Caillère" (Pinot Noir)
100% Pinot Noir. La Caillère is a 1.35-hectare estate plot of 35-to-40-year-old Pinot Noir vines planted on very deep clay over limestone. The argilo-silex soils are sandy and rocky and in fact the parcel takes its name from caillasse, meaning "hard rocks". The Puzelats farm it organically and harvest it by hand.
As is typical of Tue-Boeuf reds, the fruit goes as whole clusters into huge oak vats for a spontaneous fermentation, which is a semi-carbonic maceration with a closed top for around 10 to 14 days. The clusters are pressed and the wine finishes with a non-carbonic, open-top fermentation in vat. La Caillère is aged for 10-12 months in used demi-muids and Burgundy barrels and bottled without fining or filtration and with little to no sulfur. It is classified as AOC Cheverny. Since it comes from AOC-designated estate fruit, the full name of Clos du Tue Boeuf features prominently at the top of the label (vs. sourced-fruit wines where the name of the wine stands out with the winery name in small print at the bottom).