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2019 Vouvray
ChampalouIt’s hard to believe that nearly thirty-five years have passed since we first began importing Didier and Catherine Champalou’s wines. Few producers in the wine world boast such a consistent record, where each release is an honest and reliable ambassador to an appellation, a grape, and an entire region. The Champalous are masters of Loire Chenin Blanc, producing Vouvray in all styles; this still, dry rendition, aged in stainless steel, represents their flagship cuvée. Gentle and refreshing on the palate, it boasts a delightful balance of stony minerality with luscious, almost honeyed fruit and flowery notes, making for a great apéritif or easy pairing with all sorts of dishes. Didier and Catherine love to cook, and they will often produce an aged bottle or two to serve with a creation from the home kitchen. Best of all, their daughter Céline has joined the domaine, so we can hope for another thirty-five years—at least!—of delicious, terroir-driven Vouvray crafted with heart and soul.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2019 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chenin Blanc |
Appellation: | Vouvray |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Champalou |
Winemaker: | Champalou family |
Vineyard: | 35 years average, 13.5 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Farming: | Sustainable |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
France | Loire
Simon refers to Hameau de Reigny as a “nature” wine. The result is textured and tropical-fruited, yet not so much a departure from the region’s typicity, as rather, a riff on it.
2019 Chinon “Clos du Chêne Vert”
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Chinons from Joguet are known for their firm minerality, but this one is quite charming as well, with plummy black fruit, myrtle, and notes of warm licorice.
2022 Saumur Champigny “La Foulée”
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Made in a fruit-forward, supple, easy-drinking style with very little added sulfur.
2018 Vouvray “La Moelleuse”
France | Loire
This is the Champalous’ late-harvest wine, gently sweet yet retaining the mouthwatering acidity that Chenin from the great sites of the Loire can provide.
2022 Vouvray “Les Fondraux”
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The contrast of ripe, succulent Chenin Blanc fruit with a spike of flinty minerality is like licking honey off an arrowhead.
2020 Chinon “Les Varennes du Grand Clos”
France | Loire
With floral aromas and fine-grained tannins, it already showcases its charms.
2022 Vouvray
France | Loire
Gentle and refreshing on the palate, it boasts a delightful balance of stony minerality with luscious, almost honeyed fruit and flowery notes.
2019 Vouvray “Le Portail”
France | Loire
The most serious and age-worthy of Champalou’s dry wines, it has a depth and richness of flavor that allow it to shine alongside refined cuisine.
Vouvray Brut
France | Loire
From clay and limestone vineyards, they are able to obtain remarkable complexity in their Brut, while the texture shows both a creamy richness and an austere minerality.
About The Producer
Champalou
About The Region
Loire
The defining feature of the Loire Valley, not surprisingly, is the Loire River. As the longest river in France, spanning more than 600 miles, this river connects seemingly disparate wine regions. Why else would Sancerre, with its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir be connected to Muscadet, an appellation that is 250 miles away?
Secondary in relevance to the historical, climatic, environmental, and cultural importance of the river are the wines and châteaux of the Jardin de la France. The kings and nobility of France built many hundreds of châteaux in the Loire but wine preceded the arrival of the noblesse and has since out-lived them as well.
Diversity abounds in the Loire. The aforementioned Kimmderidgian limestone of Sancerre is also found in Chablis. Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur boast the presence of tuffeau, a type of limestone unique to the Loire that has a yellowish tinge and a chalky texture. Savennières has schist, while Muscadet has volcanic, granite, and serpentinite based soils. In addition to geologic diversity, many, grape varieties are grown there too: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne are most prevalent, but (to name a few) Pinot Gris, Grolleau, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’Aunis, and Folle Blanche are also planted. These myriad of viticultural influences leads to the high quality production of every type of wine: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert.
Like the Rhône and Provence, some of Kermit’s first imports came from the Loire, most notably the wines of Charles Joguet and Château d’Epiré—two producers who are featured in Kermit’s book Adventures on the Wine Route and with whom we still work today.
More from Loire or France
2022 Sancerre HALF BOTTLE
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2020 Vouvray “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Dyane”
Christine de Mianville France | Loire
2022 Cheverny
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2022 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d'Epiré France | Loire
2022 Chinon Rosé
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Val de Loire Rouge Grolleau
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Outre Terre”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Coteaux du Loir Rouge “Cuvée du Rosier”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2022 Sancerre HALF BOTTLE
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2020 Vouvray “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Dyane”
Christine de Mianville France | Loire
2022 Cheverny
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2022 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d'Epiré France | Loire
2022 Chinon Rosé
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Val de Loire Rouge Grolleau
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Outre Terre”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Coteaux du Loir Rouge “Cuvée du Rosier”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
Where the newsletter started
Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch