Dear all,

Now that the 2026 harvest is more or less finished everywhere, temperatures have dropped and the first proper rain showers have arrived, we feel autumn has officially begun. Summer was one big celebration for us: lots of visits with producers, fun evenings at Zuiver Bar (Jim de Jong!) and plenty of conversations and laughs with many of you. By now, the entire team has enjoyed a well-deserved holiday, and we’re getting ready for autumn. This season is generally all about the annual portfolio tasting — this year taking place during the weekend of 31 October & 1 November — but aside from preparing for that, we also have plenty of wine news to share.

The biggest news this month: the wines of Miha & Tom of L’Absurde Génie des Fleurs from the Hérault (northwestern Languedoc) have finally arrived. We were already big Absurde fans with a very special connection to Miha & Tom, but after their visit this spring, our visit to the domaine in April and our extensive contact this summer about the new vintage, we can say with full conviction that the wines of the Absurdes belong to the absolute energetic best and hold a special place in our heart. The 2025s have now arrived; on Miha & Tom’s own recommendation, we’re releasing a limited selection for now, and are releasing the ‘bigger’ cuvées in a later round.

We also received new wines from Zoé & Louise Puzelat of Clos du Tue-Boeuf in Touraine. The sisters have been working together for some time now, after taking over most of the domaine from their father and Loire pioneer Thierry Puzelat, and in our opinion the wines have become even better. Plenty of red and white 2025 evergreens have arrived, but we also received some extra-long-aged 2023s and 2024s of several of the longer aged, old-vined domaine cuvées.

In this newsletter we’re also sharing a little overdue photo report from our trip to the Beaujolais, Burgundy and Jura in August, just before the harvest, as well as a Sardinian photo report from our pilgrimage to Gianfranco of Panevino.

Furthermore, we also have a short report from the Mosel, following our visit to the winemaking duo Dick had already wanted to work with more than a decade ago, and wh entrusted us with their Purus-wines this summer. Speaking of Dick’s favourite producers, we also have plenty of new wines from the Musters in stock again, including a limited number of cases of three wines by their son Elias, the natural wine wunderkind...

And then there’s Zuiver Bar. Following the fun we had during our evening with Jim de Jong & Sjanne (Restaurant Renilde), we managed to convince three more chefs to join us: chef Rein Op ‘t Root (Restaurant Europa) will cook on Wednesday 14 October, followed by Parisian Diadé Diombana (Freddy’s Kitchen) during ADE on 21, 22 and 23 October, as well as our own Merijn van Berlo (Restaurant Choux) on Wednesday 25 November. In all cases, the recipe will be the same: they all will serve a nourishing, seasonal three-course menu for just €39,50, and we will make sure to pour special wines alongside.

Finally: after much deliberation, we’ve decided to make our newsletters a little more concise, with readability and clarity in mind. Don’t worry: our passion for the wines, our connection with the producers and the energy we get from working with everyone on both sides of the importing business have not diminished one bit. We put lots of time into keeping our product lists, webshop, Instagram and producer profiles on the website up to date — these will take on a slightly more prominent role as reference material. If you have any questions following this newsletter, please don’t hesitate to get in touch through the usual channels.

Read on below for all the wine news, information about the portfolio tasting and the Zuiver Bar agenda for October and November.

FRESH L’ABSURDE GÉNIE DES FLEURS FROM THE HÉRAULT

A month and a half ago, we received a large shipment of 2025s from Miha & Tom of L’Absurde Génie des Fleurs. We had already tasted them this spring in April at the domaine, straight from bottle, tank and qvevri, but they are finally available in the Netherlands now.

The Génies make wines on a small scale that are little works of art, both inside and out. The duo works in the hills of the Hérault, in the Haut-Languedoc, in the valley of the Orb River, where fellow natural wine stalwart Axel Prüfer also makes his wines. In this rugged, hilly and forested part of the Languedoc, far away from the mega-estates, there is very little monocultural agriculture; the wineries that do exist are small-scale and locally oriented.

Miha and Tom now have just over five hectares, spread across small parcels on limestone and clay soils high in the hills, with old vines of Cinsault, Carignan, Aramon, Mourvèdre, Terret and Chardonnay, some planted as far back as 1912 and 1936. Tom is French, Miha is Romanian, and it is her background that gives the cuvées their names: Bunici (grandparents), Zmeurica (raspberry), Curcubeu (rainbow), Catifea (velvet). The labels, which change every year, used to be entirely her work. Nowadays, she also ropes in Tom, her partner Gaël, and friends and family to help with the label work. Miha and Tom work their vineyards according to the light-pruning method also used by their late mentor and close friend Alain Castex, the grandmaster of Le Casot des Mailloles, sacrificing yield to create more dense but delicate juice.

After several years of working with Miha and Tom’s wines, we have developed a very clear feeling for their style, despite the breadth of the range. While the colours and flavours vary widely, the wines are generally light in colour, floral on the nose and full of the directness and energy typical of this kind of high-altitude, limestone-rich Languedoc terroir. Compared with the 2024s, the 2025s are once again a little more in the duo’s signature style: slightly more rich, more umami, a more volatile and rough-edged character, and even more intoxicating floral perfume.

On Miha & Tom’s recommendation, we’re releasing only a part of these sixteen cuvées now, as these are the wines that show best at a young age. The ‘bigger’ wines, harvested a little later, given more time in tank or qvevri and made from the oldest vines, will probably be released after winter. There are also a few wines of which we receive too little to put them on the product list and website (such as Dor 2025…); just let us know if you’re interested and we’ll happily share that list.

New wines from L’Absurde Génie des Fleurs:

orange

• Ciulin 2025 (Terret Gris & Blanc) — €22,00

rosé

• Adiere 2025 (Cinsault, Aramon) — €18,50

• Tutti Frutti 2025 (Cinsault, Aramon, Carignan, Terret etc.) — €20,50

red

• Plin Foc 2024/2025 (blend of the press juice from all grapes, aged in dame-jeanne) — €18,50

• Arc 2025 (Cinsault) — €20,50

• Penumbra 2025 (Cinsault) — €20,50

• Zmeurica 2025 (Cinsault, Carignan, Mourvèdre) — €20,50

• Linia Ondulata 2025 (Cinsault) — €22,00

Absurde Génie des Fleurs (Hérault)

CLOS DU TUE-BOEUF (TOURAINE) — 2025S + OLDER CUVÉES

Clos du Tue-Boeuf holds a special place in our collection, as one of the leading domaines in the Loire natural wine scene. Thierry and his brother Jean-Marie Puzelat were already making wines without additions from clean vineyards back in the 1990s, and today Thierry’s daughters Zoé and Louise are at the helm: in 2025, the sisters officially became the majority shareholders of the domaine built by their father. Thierry remains involved, but the handover of responsibility has progressed. Louise mainly focuses on the vineyards, while Zoé takes care of the winery. Besides being incredibly kind, curious and engaged people, Zoé and Louise also make wines in a style that perhaps appeals to us even more than that of the previous generation. Where the previous generation may have been somewhat less strict, Zoé and Louise are strong advocates for keeping things natural, both in the vineyards and in the cellar.

The domaine is located in Les Montils, in Touraine, south of Cheverny. The parcels cover limestone, clay and flint soils and are planted with a broad range of Loire varieties: Sauvignon Blanc, Gamay, Pineau d’Aunis, Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc and Romorantin. They are also experimenting with around 25 different grape varieties, from old indigenous varieties to hybrids and grapes from other regions — all in an effort to figure out the right, future-proof direction for the domaine.

The 2025 harvest was warm and dry, with lower yields than usual (around 30 hL/ha), but with beautiful ripeness and remarkably low volatile acidity. In the winery, Zoé and Louise once again adapted to the season: for the first time, some of the white wines underwent partial maceration to help the fermentations along. Vin Blanc, Frileuse, Brin de Chèvre, Les Madères and Romorantin all saw 20–30% skin contact this year. Although this did not result in orange wines, it did give the wines more body and substance. As for our selection, we’ve received a good quantity of some of the more ‘fancy’ wines (including Les Madères 2025!), a set of extra-aged white wines, plus a number of energetic reds from the 2025 vintage. See below for what’s new on the list.

New wines from Clos du Tue-Boeuf:

white

• Vin Blanc 2025 (Sauvignon Blanc) — €16,00

• Le Petit Buisson 2025 (Sauvignon Blanc) — €20,00

• Brin de Chèvre 2024 (Menu Pineau, Petit Meslier) — €27,50

• Les Madères 2025 (old-vine Chenin Blanc) — €28,00

• Romorantin 2024 (Romorantin) — €28,50

red

• Vin Rouge 2025 (Gamay, Pineau d’Aunis) — €15,00

• La Butte 2025 (Gamay) — €20,00

• La Petite Guerre 2024 (old-vine Gamay, Côt) — €20,00

• Près du Bois 2022 (Cabernet Franc) — €20,00

• Cabernet Bois 2025 (Cabernet Franc) — €20,00

• Rouillon 2025 (Pinot Noir, Gamay) — €22,50

• Pineau d’Aunis 2025 (Pineau d’Aunis) — €23,50 (also available in magnum)

• La Caillère 2025 (Pinot Noir) — €29,00 (also available in jeroboam…)

Clos du Tue-Boeuf (Touraine)

MUSTER: ELIAS, MARIA & SEPP

From France, we move to southern Austria, where the Muster family makes breathtaking wines in Südsteiermark, right on the border with Slovenia. The Musters are known for their deep biodynamic convictions, their exceptionally healthy and barely ploughed old vineyards, and the famous Opok soil and the mineral character it gives their wines — something very rarely so clearly expressed as it is in the Muster wines.

Last July we visited the Musters on a sunny Saturday, where we tasted Maria & Sepp’s wines with a wonderful view over the green hills, as well as the unbottled 2024s and 2025s with their son Elias in his grandmother’s cellar. Two of the 2024s are now in bottle, meaning that after a long Elias drought, we finally have them available again. From Elias we received two cuvées: one familiar face made of 100% Sauvignon Blanc from the oldest vines and steepest vineyard, and a blend of Gelber Muskateller and Sauvignon Blanc.

Maria & Sepp’s wines are blueprints for grape, Opok terroir, regional and winemaker typicity, while Elias’ more artistic, micro-production approach gives his wines a cheerful, tropical twist. Another major difference from the white Musters is that Elias’ wines are aged exclusively in 500L barrels, while the white Musters are raised in a combination of larger and smaller barrels. As a result, Elias’ wines show a little more of his fascination with white Jura, without losing their typical Steiermark character.

See below for all available wines, and check the website or get in touch for detailed descriptions of each cuvée. Besides the new additions to the website product list, we also have a few 2022 and 2021 bottles from several Maria & Sepp cuvées: the 2022s are the wilder versions, with some volatile acidity (very tasty!), while the 2021s are razor-sharp energy bombs (also very tasty!).

New wines from Maria & Sepp Muster:

white

• Opok 2024 (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muskateller, Welschriesling) — €29,50

• Gelber Muskateller vom Opok 2024 (Gelber Muskateller) — €29,50

• Sauvignon vom Opok 2024 (Sauvignon Blanc) — €29,50

• Graf Sauvignon 2023 (Chardonnay) — €39,00

• Graf Morillon 2023 (Chardonnay) — €39,00

• Sgaminegg 2023 (Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc) — €56,50

orange

• Gräfin 2023 (Sauvignon Blanc) — €40,50

• Erde 2023 (Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay) — €56,50

rosé

• Rosé vom Opok 2023 (Blaufränkisch, Zweigelt, Blauer Wildbacher) — €29,50

red

• Zweigelt vom Opok 2022 (Zweigelt) — €29,50

• Graf Zweigelt 2022 (Zweigelt) — €39,00

Maria & Sepp Muster (Südsteiermark)

New wines from Elias Muster:

white

• Coprivus 2023/24 (Sauvignon Blanc) — €40,50

• Coprivus 2024 (Sauvignon Blanc) — €40,50

• Omnia 2024 (Sauvignon Blanc, Gelber Muskateller) — €40,50

Elias Muster (Südsteiermark)

PHOTO REPORT: BEAUJOLAIS, BURGUNDY & JURA

DAY 1: BRICE GRIZONNET, SECRET STOPS

DAY 2: DOMAINE DE L’OCTAVIN, DOMAINE DES CAVARODES

DAY 3: BENOÎT CAMUS, ÉPHÉMÈRE & MÉTRAS, ROMUALD VALOT

DAY 4: OCTAVIN VINEYARDS, CABARET DES OISEAUX

DAY 5: LES JARDINIERS VIGNERONS, MAISON VALETTE

PHOTO REPORT: SARDINIA — PANEVINO

During the final weekend of August, we travelled to Sardinia, where the temperatures rose well above 40°C. After cooling off a little on the Sardinian coast, we headed into the high, rugged interior for our pilgrimage to Gianfranco Manca of Panevino, who has been making wine there without additions for more than 40 years. Gianfranco is a great example for us, not only because of his winemaking philosophy and respect for nature, but also because of his generosity, open-mindedness and eye for the finer things in life. Here’s a short photo report.

Panevino (Nurri, Sardinia)

VISITING RITA & RUDOLF TROSSEN IN THE MOSEL

Early this September, we visited the fantastic Rita & Rudolf Trossen at their home in Kinheim, on the Mosel, exactly one day before the 2026 harvest was due to begin. The duo are among the very first practitioners of biodynamic viticulture in Germany — a choice they made in the late 1970s, long before biodynamics became commonplace (and was accepted…). In the late 2000s they began experimenting with wines without additions, laying the foundations for the Neue Deutsche Naturweinwelle that would follow in the early 2010s.

By now, Rita & Rudolf have been harvesting beautiful Rieslings for years from 16 small parcels spread across less than two hectares. Their pure zéro-zéro line, the so-called ‘Purus’ wines, have become reference points for the category as a whole: not only for unsulfited, biodynamic Mosel Rieslings, but for white natural wines in general.

We visited the vineyards and talked to Rudolf about the distinctive characteristics of pure slate wines, the dream of young Rudi to change the world, biodynamics, Roman history in the Mosel, the Trossen family history in Kinheim — which goes all the way back to the 15th century — Saint Hubertus and the story of the Madonna, and the magic of Rieslings from ungrafted European vines. We then tasted that magic from these 100+-year-old pre-phylloxera vines in the Schiefergold Purus 2022 and the demi-sec version from the exceptional 2019 vintage…

Alongside the cuvées now ready for release, including bubbles, fresh and linear 2024s and richer 2023s, Rudolf also opened one of his last bottles of Schieferstern Purus 2014, convincing proof that wines without additions can age beautifully. The fact that our mutual friend Christoph then gave all the wines an extra layer of personal anecdotes made the whole experience even more special.

At Zuiver, we’ve been drinking Rita & Rudolf’s wines at home with great pleasure, emotion and dedication for almost ten years. Being able to offer them professionally now as well is very special to us. Coming soon… We’ll make sure to announce the arrival via our Instagram!

Incoming wines from Rita & Rudolf Trossen:

sparkling

• Purellus Pet Nat Rosé 2024 (Pinot Noir) — €26,50

• Riesling Pet Nat 2024 (Riesling) — €27,00

white

• Sankt Peter 2024 (Riesling) — €25,00

• Sankt Peter 2025 (Riesling) — €26,50

• Pyramide 2024 (Riesling) — €36,00

• Schiefergold 2022 (Riesling) — €36,00

• Madonna 2023 (Riesling) — €38,50

• Hubertus 2023 (Riesling) — €39,50

PORTFOLIO TASTING 2026 (31 OCTOBER & 1 NOVEMBER 2026)

The start of autumn means that we are quite busy preparing for our annual Portfolio Tasting which is held on Saturday 31 October & Sunday 1 November, and after sending out our initial invite last month, the tickets have been flying off the digital shelves. With this current newsletter, we wanted to remind you of the tasting, and let you know that the tickets for Saturday are almost sold-out, and that the availability for Sunday is diminishing fast t0o.

During the weekend, nine producers will be present to showcase their wines, and besides their wines, there will be 100+ bottles open to taste from the Zuiver Wijnen portfolio. Thanks to continued enthusiastic response from previous years, we will once again be hosting lectures and roundtable discussions.

Luckily, now that Zuiver HQ has permanently settled at De Ruijterkade 143, which has also become home to Zuiver Bar, we will be running programming there throughout the entire weekend. The shop will be open both days, and the bar will be serving coffee, tea, or a glass of wine on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday evening, after the tasting, everyone is welcome for drinks. We will also make sure there is something to eat — details to follow in a later practical info email. Please scroll down for the official invitation and tickets and practical information. We can’t wait!

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

• This year, our annual portfolio tasting will take place on Saturday, October 31st and Sunday, November 1st, from 13:00–17:00, on the 3rd floor above Restaurant Choux (De Ruijterkade 128, Amsterdam).

• Nine Zuiver producers will be present to share their wines and stories, and we will be opening a wide selection from the rest of our portfolio.

• We will welcome Romuald Valot, Patrick & Justine of Domaine La Bohème, Alice Bouvot of Domaine de l’Octavin, Giulio Armani of Denavolo, Dido & Jurriaan of Vinyes Tortuga, the Michlits family of Meinklang, Radovan Šuman of Vina Šuman, Keto & Gogita Makaridze of Makaridze and Gianfranco Manca of Panevino!

• Throughout the weekend, several of the winemakers will give lectures about topics close to our hearts, and we’ll also organize a number of roundtable talks. The schedule, topics, and details will be shared soon on our website, the ticket site and Instagram.

• Unlike previous years, the winemakers’ dinner at Choux will be on Sunday instead of Saturday, but the dinner now is already fully booked. However, you can still come and have a glass with the winemakers after the tasting on Saturday, at Zuiver Bar.

REGISTRATION

• To attend the tasting, we ask everyone to register via the green button down below.

• Tickets for our private customers are available for €15, which includes access to the tasting and taking home a Zuiver Wijnen tasting glass.

• The tasting is free of charge for our professional customers — if you’re in the trade please get in touch via info@zuiverwijnen.nl for details on how to RSVP.

• Please note: tickets for private customers are limited. Currently, Saturday is almost sold-out, and the availability for Sunday is dwindling fast too.

Click here to order your ticket!

ZUIVER BAR AGENDA — OCTOBER & NOVEMBER 2026

After the fun we had at Zuiver Bar last month — Jim de Jong cooked a three-course menu here on 2 September, while Sjanne, sommelier and colleague at Restaurant Renilde, poured a serious line-up of Robinot wines — we could hardly wait to start planning new editions. After some back-and-forth, we’ve managed to get no fewer than three very charismatic chefs on board!

• Rein Op ‘t Root of Restaurant Europa, Euro Pizza and Eurosoft will cook a three-course menu for €39,50 on Wednesday 14 October; our very own Merijn van Berlo of Restaurant Choux will do the same on Wednesday 25 November.

• French-Malian chef Diadié Diombana, known for his pop-ups as Freddy’s Kitchen in Paris and beyond (and as being the private chef for Madonna…), is taking things one step further by joining us for an full three-day run! Expect a West African menu with a Dutch twist, brought together by French technique. Think of ingredients like plantain, coconut, peanut mafé, yassa and hibiscus, meeting cabbage and mustard. Just like Rein and Merijn, he will also be serving a three-course menu for €39,50, but will be with us on 21, 22 and 23 October, and will have vegetarian options available.

Tickets for the dinner with Rein and the dinners with Freddy’s Kitchen are now available online via this link for Rein and on this page for Freddy’s Kitchen (make sure to order tickets for the right date), or through the green buttons below.

Tickets for Merijn’s dinner will be released mid-November, which we will announce through the Zuiver Bar Instagram.

Rein Op 't Root @ Zuiver Bar (14-10)

Freddy's Kitchen @ Zuiver Bar (21-10)

Freddy's Kitchen @ Zuiver Bar (22-10)

Freddy's Kitchen @ Zuiver Bar (23-10)

all new wines

While our plan was to make the newsletters a little more concise, this edition has once again grown to a substantial length because of the photo reports. We promise to do better next month… For now, we’d like to thank all our readers for their attention and let you know that, as usual, we’re available throughout the month via all the usual channels for tastings, recommendations, allocation requests and wine conversations.

We will be getting ready for the annual portfolio tasting extravaganza on 31 October and 1 November, but hope to see or speak to many of you before then. For now, we wish you all a wonderful October. See you soon!

Kind regards,

Dick, Figo, Job, Luna, Merijn, Olivier & Tom