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2019 Vouvray “La Cuvée des Fondraux”
ChampalouThis wine is une merveille—a marvel. To drink, to recommend, to bring to a party, to open at dinner. When it accompanies salty, briny appetizers, its brightly mineral side shines, but even alongside the spiciest Indian specialties, its audacious fruit and slight sweetness are completely undaunted. It is the poster child of versatility in a glass. I have yet to find a dish it can’t make more interesting or a diehard bone-dry devotee it can’t convert to the wonders of off-dry Chenin Blanc. Put briefly, it is one of my go-to wines, and I have utter confidence it should become one of yours.
—Emily Spillmann
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2019 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Chenin Blanc |
Appellation: | Vouvray |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Champalou |
Winemaker: | Catherine & Didier Champalou |
Vineyard: | 45 years average, 4 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Silex |
Farming: | Sustainable |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2022 Jasnières “Dyane”
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2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
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This dry Chenin Blanc is etched from the white limestone beneath—crystalline, pure, and chiseled.
2022 Vouvray
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2022 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
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Powerful, cellar-worthy dry Chenin aged in chestnut, oak, and acacia.
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.
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.
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.
2021 Sancerre “Les Coutones”
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May Bianco ~ A fleshy, full-bodied Sancerre with great freshness and the ability to age in bottle for a few years after release.
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 Sancerre
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An intense exotic nose lures you in before the minerality channels the lightning energy of this pure Sauvignon Blanc.
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
2019 Vouvray “Le Portail”
Champalou France | Loire
2019 Sancerre Rouge “Champs d’Alligny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2022 Sancerre HALF BOTTLE
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Cuvée du Silex”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2021 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Vouvray “Les Fondraux”
Champalou France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie
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2022 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
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2020 Saumur Blanc “Terres”
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2021 Sancerre “Cuvée Marcel Henri”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2019 Vouvray “Le Portail”
Champalou France | Loire
2019 Sancerre Rouge “Champs d’Alligny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2022 Sancerre HALF BOTTLE
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Cuvée du Silex”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2021 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Vouvray “Les Fondraux”
Champalou France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “Terres”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Sancerre “Cuvée Marcel Henri”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
Kermit once said...
Kermit once said...
Let the brett nerds retire into protective bubbles, and whenever they thirst for wine it can be passed in to them through a sterile filter. Those of us on the outside can continue to enjoy complex, natural, living wines.
Inspiring Thirst, page 236