Notify me
Vouvray Brut
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: | 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

2023 Reuilly “Les Pierres Plates”
France | Loire
Consistently one of the Loire’s finest Sauvignon Blancs

2022 Jasnières “Dyane”
France | Loire
Juicy and open-knit, it mirrors the sensation of biting into fleshy slices of white peach, nectarine, and guava.

2021 Vin de France Rosé Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Les Arceaux”
France | Loire
Intensely dry and mineral, the structured Les Arceaux is a bottle to pair with a meal rather than to drink as an apéritif.

2023 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
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.

2021 Chinon Blanc “Les Charmes”
France | Loire
The singularity and beauty of Chenin Blanc really shines with a bit of age, which is what makes this wine so special to enjoy now.

2019 Vouvray “Bois Guyon”
France | Loire
Unique in its combination of honeyed richness and flinty verve. Hard to resist on its own, but you might also try serving it with salty-sweet yakitori or buffalo chicken wings.

2022 Sancerre Blanc “Pierre François Xavier Vieilles Vignes”
France | Loire
The oak adds a grain and level of class and backbone that raises this cuvée a step above the domaine’s classic Sancerre bottling.

2023 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.
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
2023 Sancerre Rouge
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Clos de la Dioterie”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2023 Saumur Mousseux “Bulles de Roche”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Sancerre
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Sancerre “Les Cris”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Quincy
Domaine Trotereau France | Loire
2021 Chinon
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Beaux Monts”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Vin de France Blanche
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2023 Sancerre Rouge
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Clos de la Dioterie”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2023 Saumur Mousseux “Bulles de Roche”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Sancerre
Domaine Roger Neveu France | Loire
2024 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Sancerre “Les Cris”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2023 Quincy
Domaine Trotereau France | Loire
2021 Chinon
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Beaux Monts”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2020 Vin de France Blanche
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
Great winemakers, great terroirs, there is never any hurry. And I no longer buy into this idea of “peak” maturity. Great winemakers, great terroirs, their wines offer different pleasures at different ages.
Inspiring Thirst, page 312