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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 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.

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.

2023 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
France | Loire
Powerful, cellar-worthy dry Chenin aged in chestnut, oak, and acacia.

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.

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.

2023 Sancerre
France | Loire
An intense exotic nose lures you in before the minerality channels the lightning energy of this pure Sauvignon Blanc.

2023 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.

2023 Savennières
France | Loire
March Club Chevalier ~ Savennières is home to some of the greatest terroirs for this grape variety thanks to its soils of schist, sandstone, and blue slate and its proximity to the moderating Loire River.

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.
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
2022 Sancerre “Les Cris”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Chinon “Les Petites Roches”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Bourgueil “Nuits d’Ivresse”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Vin de France Rouge “Le Martray”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Clos de l’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Clos du Chêne Vert”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Rouge "Champs d’Alligny"
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2023 Bourgueil “Cuvée Alouettes”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2021 Vin de France Rosé Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Les Arceaux”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
Prieuré de Saint Céols France | Loire
2022 Sancerre “Les Cris”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Chinon “Les Petites Roches”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2020 Bourgueil “Nuits d’Ivresse”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Vin de France Rouge “Le Martray”
Grange Saint Sauveur France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Clos de l’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Chinon “Clos du Chêne Vert”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Rouge "Champs d’Alligny"
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2023 Bourgueil “Cuvée Alouettes”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2021 Vin de France Rosé Grolleau/Cabernet Franc “Les Arceaux”
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2023 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Le Prieuré”
Prieuré de Saint Céols 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.