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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

2022 Vin de France Rouge “Le Martray”
France | Loire
The new vintage shows great freshness and brightness, making me think of tart berries picked in the forest just a touch below full ripeness.

2021 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires”
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Sourced from 110+ year-old vines, this is hands-down one of the best Cab Francs being made in the Loire Valley today.

2018 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
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Burgundian-like in character from its time spent in barrel, the laser-like acidity will become even more enticing with some age.

2024 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.

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

2022 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.

2023 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
France | Loire
Sauvignon Blanc has many incarnations throughout the world, but even in the Loire Valley—the grape’s spiritual home—Pouilly Fumé represents a very distinctive example.

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.

2017 Jasnières “Chant de Vigne”
France | Loire
A single-vineyard bottling whose age lends a soft, drawn butter richness to its bright, tart citrus palate.

2022 Chinon “Le Domaine”
France | Loire
It is fresh and buoyant enough for casual fare yet has the stuffing to accompany heartier dishes, while its vivid raspberry fruit makes it extremely approachable today, notwithstanding its medium-term aging potential.
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
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Réserve”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2021 Chinon Blanc “Les Charmes”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Gorges”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2023 Bourgueil “Trinch!”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2023 Saumur Mousseux “Bulles de Roche”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Sancerre Rouge
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2023 Val de Loire Rouge Grolleau
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Vin de France Blanc “Chenin Centenaire”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
Vouvray Brut
Champalou France | Loire
2024 Jasnières
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Réserve”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2021 Chinon Blanc “Les Charmes”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Gorges”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2023 Bourgueil “Trinch!”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2023 Saumur Mousseux “Bulles de Roche”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Sancerre Rouge
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2023 Val de Loire Rouge Grolleau
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Vin de France Blanc “Chenin Centenaire”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
Vouvray Brut
Champalou France | Loire
2024 Jasnières
Pascal Janvier 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.