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Vouvray Brut MAGNUM
Champalou
The 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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2021 Chinon Blanc “Les Charmes”
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2024 Coteaux du Loir Rouge “Cuvée du Rosier”
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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 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 Jasnières “Cuvée Sainte Narcisse”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
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2023 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2024 Jasnières “Cuvée du Silex”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2024 Muscadet “Le Clos de la Butte”
Eric Chevalier France | Loire
2023 Sancerre Blanc “Pierre François Xavier Vieilles Vignes”
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil “Cuvée Alouettes”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2023 Vouvray “Pierres Rousses”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “La Dilettante”
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2021 Vin de France Blanche
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2023 Sancerre “Les Cris”
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2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Gorges”
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2022 Jasnières “Cuvée Sainte Narcisse”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2024 Reuilly Pinot Gris Rosé
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2023 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2024 Jasnières “Cuvée du Silex”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2024 Muscadet “Le Clos de la Butte”
Eric Chevalier France | Loire
2023 Sancerre Blanc “Pierre François Xavier Vieilles Vignes”
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil “Cuvée Alouettes”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2023 Vouvray “Pierres Rousses”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Vin de France Blanche
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2023 Sancerre “Les Cris”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2018 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine “Gorges”
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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