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Vouvray Brut MAGNUM
ChampalouThe Champalou family—Catherine, Didier, and their daughter, Céline—are Chenin Blanc specialists: from the vineyards around their home in the heart of the Vouvray appellation, they make wines in every style from the noble Pineau de la Loire, as the grape is also known. Their Vouvray pétillant is crafted in the méthode traditionelle: the secondary fermentation takes place in bottle, and then the wine is aged extensively on its lees—in this case, two years—before being disgorged and recorked. 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. For this reason, this wine makes a great bargain alternative to Champagne, but it is important not to overlook the fact that it comes from a terroir and grape variety of its own. The Champalous like to serve it at the end of a meal, but this dry sparkler works well from the apéritif all the way through dessert.
—Anthony Lynch
Wine Type: | sparkling |
Vintage: | NV |
Bottle Size: | 1.5L |
Blend: | Chenin Blanc |
Appellation: | Vouvray |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Champalou |
Winemaker: | Catherine & Didier Champalou |
Vineyard: | 20 years average, 3.5 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone |
Farming: | Sustainable |
Alcohol: | 13% |
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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2022 Saumur Champigny “Cuvée Domaine”
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2021 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
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2022 Saumur Blanc “L’Insolite”
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2021 Sancerre “Racines”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
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2022 Bourgueil Rosé
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2022 Sancerre HALF BOTTLE
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2022 Vouvray “Les Fondraux”
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2022 Vouvray
Champalou 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