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Vouvray Brut
ChampalouThe Champalous make the finest sparkling wine in France outside of Champagne. Their secret? Pampered Chenin Blanc vines farmed in high-quality limestone soils and hand-riddled in their small family cellar. The talented Céline Champalou is pictured on the cover of this brochure, surveying and sharing her latest vinous exploits.
—Dixon Brooke
Wine Type: | sparkling |
Vintage: | N.V. |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chenin Blanc |
Appellation: | Vouvray |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Champalou |
Winemaker: | Catherine & Didier Champalou |
Vineyard: | 20 years average, 3.5 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Farming: | Sustainable |
Alcohol: | 13.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
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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.
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2022 Quincy “Vieilles Vignes”
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2022 Bourgueil “Trinch!”
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2022 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
Régis Minet France | Loire
2021 Saint Nicolas de Bourgueil “Irène”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2021 Chinon “Les Grézeaux”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2019 Sancerre Rouge “Champs d’Alligny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil Clairet “Avis de Vin Fort”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Vin de France Rouge Cabernet Franc “Huguette”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2021 Vin de France Blanche
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
1989 Vouvray “Bois Guyon”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Chardonnay
Eric Chevalier 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