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2022 Vouvray
Champalou

Céline Champalou

Vouvray

The Champalou cellar
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: | 2022 |
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: | 13% |
More from this Producer or Region

2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Gorges”
France | Loire
Gorges boasts an incredible texture and tension imparted by decomposed, blue-green igneous rock, seventy-year-old vines, and years-long aging on the lees.

2023 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.

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.

2022 Chinon “Beaux Monts”
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Sourced from the village of Beaumont, located within the Chinon AOC, it is utterly delicious, with a perfect balance of fruit and earth.

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.

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.

2020 Vin de France Rouge Cabernet Franc “Huguette”
France | Loire
Huguette is a silky, peppery Cabernet Franc from vines over a century in age.

2023 Chinon Rosé
France | Loire
April Club Gourmand ~ 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.
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 Saumur Blanc “Clos Romans”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
Prieuré de Saint Céols France | Loire
2023 Vouvray “Pierres Rousses”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Gorges”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Vin de France Rosé Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Les Arceaux”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2023 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
Régis Minet France | Loire
2023 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Réserve”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “Clos Romans”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
Prieuré de Saint Céols France | Loire
2023 Vouvray “Pierres Rousses”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Gorges”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Vin de France Rosé Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Les Arceaux”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2023 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
Régis Minet France | Loire
2023 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Réserve”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
I want you to realize once and for all: Even the winemaker does not know what aging is going to do to a new vintage; Robert Parker does not know; I do not know. We all make educated (hopefully) guesses about what the future will bring, but guesses they are. And one of the pleasures of a wine cellar is the opportunity it provides for you to witness the evolution of your various selections. Living wines have ups and downs just as people do, periods of glory and dog days, too. If wine did not remind me of real life, I would not care about it so much.
Inspiring Thirst, page 171