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2024 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: | 2024 |
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% |
More from this Producer or Region

2024 Sancerre
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Textbook Sancerre: bright and citrusy, with a clean, stony finish.

2024 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 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
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Germain’s reds are grand examples of the heights biodynamic wines can achieve.

Vouvray Brut MAGNUM
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A bubbly for any day of the week–bone-dry and super fresh

2022 Bourgueil Clairet “Avis de Vin Fort”
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Fresh and punchy Cabernet Franc from fun-loving Catherine and Pierre Breton. Light, juicy, and ready to go. Drink young, drink chilled, drink plenty.

Vouvray Brut
France | Loire
** New Wine Added **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.

2021 Saumur Blanc “Terres”
France | Loire
Redolent of almonds, honey, and a wide range of citrus, this kaleidoscopic Chenin finishes with a faint tannin, making it ideal alongside sushi, roast chicken, or a hard and flavorful cheese like Comté.

2019 Bourgueil “Les Perrières”
France | Loire
The family’s grandest wine, a brooding elixir of satiny fruit, cedar, and graphite.

Touraine “Fines Bulles”
France | Loire
** New Wine Added **Made in the méthode traditionnelle with direct-press Cabernet Franc, it is a light, bright, and festive bubbly meant to be drunk cold and often.

2023 Chinon Rosé
France | Loire
Matthieu Baudry captures both youthful fruit and energizing mineral textures with this rosé.
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 Kimmeridgian 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
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2021 Chinon “La Croix Boissée”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2024 Sancerre Rosé
Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2021 Saumur Blanc “Terres”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Chinon Blanc
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
Vouvray Brut
Champalou France | Loire
2023 Vin de France Brut Nature “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2024 Jasnières
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2024 Coteaux du Loir Rouge “Cuvée du Rosier”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Dyane”
Christine de Mianville France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Clos Sénéchal”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2019 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Clandestine”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2021 Chinon “La Croix Boissée”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2024 Sancerre Rosé
Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2021 Saumur Blanc “Terres”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Chinon Blanc
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
Vouvray Brut
Champalou France | Loire
2023 Vin de France Brut Nature “Elle est pas bulle, la vie?”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2024 Jasnières
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2024 Coteaux du Loir Rouge “Cuvée du Rosier”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Dyane”
Christine de Mianville France | Loire
Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
When buying red Burgundy, I think we should remember:
1. Big wines do not age better than light wine.
2. A so-called great vintage at the outset does not guarantee a great vintage for the duration.
3. A so-called off vintage at the outset does not mean the wines do not have a brilliant future ahead of them.
4. Red Burgundy should not taste like Guigal Côte-Rôtie, even if most wine writers wish it would.
5. Don’t follow leaders; watch yer parking meters.
Inspiring Thirst, page 174