Notify me
Vouvray Brut
Champalou
Made from Chenin Blanc in the Champagne method, this cuvée is the quintessential apéritif sparkling wine. Notes of apple and pear and a fine bead pair perfectly with Loire Valley chèvres, but if you would like to try a cheese from beyond the Loire, consider an aged Comté alongside roasted walnuts.
—Tom Wolf
Wine Type: | sparkling |
Vintage: | NV |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
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% |
More from this Producer or Region

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.

2024 Val de Loire Rouge Grolleau
France | Loire
This wine in the Breton book is a pure old-vine Grolleau from soils of clay and silex.

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.

2020 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
France | Loire
Germain’s reds are grand examples of the heights biodynamic wines can achieve.

2024 Vouvray
France | Loire
Gentle and refreshing on the palate, it boasts a delightful balance of stony minerality with luscious, almost honeyed fruit and flowery notes.

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

2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
France | Loire
From a small but mighty appellation boasting an impressive soil loaded with fossilized oyster shells. Peachy, finely textured, and pleasantly verdant.

2021 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
France | Loire
Germain’s reds are grand examples of the heights biodynamic wines can achieve.

2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Cuvée des Bénédictins”
France | Loire
Pure and precise, this chalky Sauvignon Blanc offers a combination of bright citrus with a creamy depth that is simply hard to resist.

2022 Chinon Blanc
France | Loire
August Club Gourmand ~ Ultra fresh and brimming with citrus blossom and orchard fruit notes, it has a saline, mineral finish that leaves my palate begging for more.
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
2024 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
Prieuré de Saint Céols France | Loire
2024 Sancerre Rosé
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2023 Sancerre “Les Cris”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Gorges”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2019 Chinon “Clos du Chêne Vert”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2024 Vouvray
Champalou France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Clos de l’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Reuilly Pinot Noir
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2023 Savennières
Château d’Epiré France | Loire
2024 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
Prieuré de Saint Céols France | Loire
2024 Sancerre Rosé
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2023 Sancerre “Les Cris”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Gorges”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2019 Chinon “Clos du Chêne Vert”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2024 Vouvray
Champalou France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Clos de l’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Reuilly Pinot Noir
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2023 Savennières
Château d’Epiré 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