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2022 Vouvray “Les Fondraux”
ChampalouCrafting impeccably balanced, off-dry wines like this is no simple task, but the Champalou Fondraux rolls over the tongue so fluidly that you might be tempted to think the berries tasted just like this when they were picked off the vine. It comes down to masterful winemaking, in which precision and savoir faire replace the need for technological intervention to create a velvety, suave Vouvray that oozes class. The contrast of ripe, succulent Chenin Blanc fruit with a spike of flinty minerality is like licking honey off an arrowhead.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2022 |
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, Limestone, Flint |
Farming: | Sustainable |
Alcohol: | 13% |
More from this Producer or Region
2018 Vouvray “La Moelleuse”
France | Loire
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.
2018 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
France | Loire
This chiseled Chenin Blanc comes from 70-year-old vines planted on an ancient limestone slope. Burgundian-like in character from its time spent in barrel, the laser-like acidity will become even more enticing with some age.
2020 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.
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.
2019 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.
2020 Saumur Champigny “Clos de l’Échelier”
France | Loire
Fine, with bright acid, sleek silkiness, and great length, it is the most elegant of all of Thierry’s red wines.
2020 Saumur Champigny “Outre Terre”
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Outre Terre is a tiny production of Cabernet Franc fermented in amphora and aged in barrel.
2022 Chardonnay
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Some wines deliver well beyond expectations—this is one of them.
2022 Vouvray
France | Loire
Gentle and refreshing on the palate, it boasts a delightful balance of stony minerality with luscious, almost honeyed fruit and flowery notes.
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.
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
2022 Vouvray
Champalou France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2019 Bourgueil “Les Perrières”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Coteaux du Loir Blanc
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2022 Anjou Rouge “Clos de la Cerisaie”
Château d'Epiré France | Loire
2021 Sancerre “Racines”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Muscadet “Le Clos de la Butte”
Eric Chevalier France | Loire
2022 Vin de France Rouge “Le Martray”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2022 Savennières
Château d'Epiré France | Loire
2022 Saumur Champigny “Cuvée Domaine”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “Terres”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Vouvray
Champalou France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2019 Bourgueil “Les Perrières”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Coteaux du Loir Blanc
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2022 Anjou Rouge “Clos de la Cerisaie”
Château d'Epiré France | Loire
2021 Sancerre “Racines”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Muscadet “Le Clos de la Butte”
Eric Chevalier France | Loire
2022 Vin de France Rouge “Le Martray”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2022 Savennières
Château d'Epiré France | Loire
2022 Saumur Champigny “Cuvée Domaine”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “Terres”
Thierry Germain 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.