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2023 Vouvray
Champalou
Céline Champalou’s Vouvray is always a joy to drink. The wine seems so pure, as if it bubbled up out of the limestone into a cool, limpid pool tended by nymphs and satyrs who pour it into the mouths of weary souls. That’s what I feel, anyway, when I grab a bottle from the fridge.
—Dustin Soiseth
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2023 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chenin Blanc |
Appellation: | Vouvray |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Champalou |
Vineyard: | 35 years average, 13.5 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Farming: | Sustainable |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region

2022 Vin de France Rouge “Le Martray”
France | Loire
The new vintage shows great freshness and brightness, making me think of tart berries picked in the forest just a touch below full ripeness.

2023 Jasnières
France | Loire
Racy, slightly honeyed, exotically perfumed, and loaded with minerality, this wine is an excellent representation of how Chenin reacts to the local conditions.

2020 Vin de France Rosé Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Les Arceaux”
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Intensely dry and mineral, the structured Les Arceaux is a bottle to pair with a meal rather than to drink as an apéritif.

2023 Vouvray “Les Fondraux”
France | Loire
The contrast of ripe, succulent Chenin Blanc fruit with a spike of flinty minerality is like licking honey off an arrowhead.

2021 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
France | Loire
This divine red allies the power and finesse one would expect from this great terroir.

2022 Quincy “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Loire
Pierre’s old-vine Quincy has a mouth-coating texture and charming notes of tangerine that are certain to earn this great appellation the following it deserves.

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.

2022 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
France | Loire
Serve it with a slight chill, and you’ll have a satisfyingly fresh red with medium fruit and a light dusting of herbs and tannin.

2022 Sancerre Blanc “Pierre François Xavier Vieilles Vignes”
France | Loire
The oak adds a grain and level of class and backbone that raises this cuvée a step above the domaine’s classic Sancerre bottling.
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 “Clos de la Dioterie”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2023 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” Blanc
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2023 Coteaux du Loir Blanc
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2023 Cheverny
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil Clairet “Avis de Vin Fort”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Vouvray “Pierres Rousses”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Sancerre “Les Cris”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2023 Vouvray “Les Fondraux”
Champalou France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Clos de la Dioterie”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2023 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” Blanc
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2023 Coteaux du Loir Blanc
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2023 Cheverny
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil Clairet “Avis de Vin Fort”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Vouvray “Pierres Rousses”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Sancerre “Les Cris”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2023 Vouvray “Les Fondraux”
Champalou France | Loire
Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.