Notify me
2024 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: | 2024 |
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% |
More from this Producer or Region

2023 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie
France | Loire
It fills the mouth with suspicions of honeysuckle and pulpy stone fruits, all while maintaining classic notes of iodine and sea breeze that make this the vinous equivalent of tidepooling.

2023 Chinon Rosé
France | Loire
Matthieu Baudry captures both youthful fruit and energizing mineral textures with this rosé.

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 Chinon “Les Petites Roches”
France | Loire
Showing off Cabernet in its most delicate, charming form, rife with aromas of roses, damp earth, and little red berries.

2024 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 Vin de France Blanche
France | Loire
This skin-contact wine is redolent of blood orange and hyssop—a perfect apéritif for olives and anchovies.

2019 Vouvray “Bois Guyon”
France | Loire
Unique in its combination of honeyed richness and flinty verve. Hard to resist on its own, but you might also try serving it with salty-sweet yakitori or buffalo chicken wings.

2024 Reuilly “Les Pierres Plates”
France | Loire
Consistently one of the Loire’s finest Sauvignon Blancs

2022 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 MAGNUM
France | Loire
A bubbly for any day of the week–bone-dry and super fresh
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 Kimmeridgian 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
Touraine “Fines Bulles”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2023 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Franc de Pied”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2022 Chinon Blanc
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2024 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “Terres”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2024 Sancerre
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2017 Jasnières “Chant de Vigne”
Christine de Mianville France | Loire
2021 Vin de France Blanc “Chenin Centenaire”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
Touraine “Fines Bulles”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2023 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Franc de Pied”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2022 Chinon Blanc
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2024 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “Terres”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2024 Sancerre
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2017 Jasnières “Chant de Vigne”
Christine de Mianville France | Loire
2021 Vin de France Blanc “Chenin Centenaire”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
If you're looking for value, look where no one else is looking.
Inspiring Thirst, page 211