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2023 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: | 2023 |
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: | 12.5% |
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A textbook Chinon like this merits simple, rustic cuisine such as roast game, baked potatoes, and sautéed porcini mushrooms.

2022 Chinon Blanc
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2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
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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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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
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2023 Chardonnay
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2020 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
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2023 Sancerre
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2023 Chinon Rosé
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2015 Chinon “Les Petites Roches” MAGNUM
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2023 Chardonnay
Eric Chevalier France | Loire
2020 Vin de France Rouge Cabernet Franc “Huguette”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Clos de la Dioterie”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Rouge "Champs d’Alligny"
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2023 Sancerre
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2020 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Réserve”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2023 Jasnières
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2023 Saumur Champigny “Cuvée Domaine”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
Where the newsletter started

Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch