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2015 Vouvray “Les Tries”
ChampalouLate-harvest Vouvray is legendary. It possesses sweet lusciousness and fresh acidity, a balance that makes it immediately appealing yet allows it to age magnificently. In fact, Didier Champalou mentioned that he once enjoyed a bottle from the late 19th century! While we don’t expect you to wait that long, we do know the merits of having a great bottle or two of dessert wine on hand. “Les Tries” is one of the most unctuous and mesmerizing, and it will only continue to improve until you pull it out for that special occasion.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | dessert |
Vintage: | 2015 |
Bottle Size: | 500mL |
Blend: | Chenin Blanc |
Appellation: | Vouvray |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Champalou |
Winemaker: | Catherine & Didier Champalou |
Vineyard: | 45 years average |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Farming: | Sustainable |
Alcohol: | 10% |
More from this Producer or Region
2022 Vouvray
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Gentle and refreshing on the palate, it boasts a delightful balance of stony minerality with luscious, almost honeyed fruit and flowery notes.
2019 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
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This downright Burgundian wine shows off the savory spine and weightless concentration imparted by this particular site.
2018 Vouvray “La Moelleuse”
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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.
2019 Vouvray “Le Portail”
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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.
2021 Sancerre Rouge
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Chotard has crafted a delicious, complex, and elegant rouge that gives many village Burgundies a run for their money.
2022 Saumur Champigny “La Foulée”
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Made in a fruit-forward, supple, easy-drinking style with very little added sulfur.
2021 Chinon
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It is fresh and buoyant enough for casual fare yet has the stuffing to accompany heartier dishes, while its vivid raspberry fruit makes it extremely approachable today, notwithstanding its medium-term aging potential.
Vouvray Brut
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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.
2020 Vouvray “Pierres Rousses”
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This wine is deep and textural, with serious presence on the palate and a dry, flinty finish.
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
2020 Chinon “Les Varennes du Grand Clos”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
Vouvray Brut
Champalou France | Loire
2018 Chinon Blanc “Clos de la Plante Martin”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “Terres”
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2022 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
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2023 Reuilly “Les Pierres Plates”
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2021 Bourgeuil “Cuvée Beauvais”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2022 Chinon Blanc
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2021 Sancerre “Les Cris”
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2022 Vin de France Brut Nature “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?”
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2022 Jasnières
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2020 Chinon “Les Varennes du Grand Clos”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
Vouvray Brut
Champalou France | Loire
2018 Chinon Blanc “Clos de la Plante Martin”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “Terres”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2023 Reuilly “Les Pierres Plates”
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2021 Bourgeuil “Cuvée Beauvais”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2022 Chinon Blanc
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2021 Sancerre “Les Cris”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2022 Vin de France Brut Nature “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Jasnières
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