From: Loire Valley, France
Varietal: Chenin Blanc
Taste: The 2021 Champalou Vouvray Sec is a charming display of elegance and balance. Upon tasting, it greets the palate with a refreshing gentleness, perfectly harmonizing stony minerality with rich, almost honeyed fruit nuances. This acid-driven palate continues to unveil layers of flavor, dominated by succulent yellow peaches, delicate white flowers, and persistent minerality.
Pairing: With its freshness and delicacy, this vivacious Vouvray Sec lends itself naturally to a range of gastronomic delights. Its vibrant fruitiness and subtle flavors pair beautifully with grilled fish, white meats, and shellfish (check out the recipe below), enhancing the inherent taste of these dishes. It also complements vegetable tians and Japanese cuisine. This wine is equally well-suited for serving as an aperitif, providing a refreshing introduction to a meal.
Baked Scallops With Creamy Spicy Sauce
Recipe from Ginza
Adapted by Julia Moskin
About. The Loire Valley, with its rolling vineyards and legendary châteaux, is home to some of the most renowned wine appellations in the world. Among these, Vouvray, known for its versatile Chenin Blanc or Pineau de la Loire, holds a prominent place. Today, we delve into the story of the 2021 Champalou Vouvray Sec, a distinguished representation of this storied appellation.
At the heart of Vouvray lies the Champalou family – Catherine and Didier, both of whom hail from a rich lineage of vignerons. Catherine represents the twelfth generation in her family to make wine in Vouvray. At the same time, Didier, from the Poitou region to the south, marks the sixth generation of his family committed to viticulture. The two met at the viticultural school in Saumur and decided to chart their course, founding their domaine in Vouvray in 1983.
The couple started with modest holdings, and through perseverance and unwavering commitment to quality, their label has become one of the most highly acclaimed in the appellation. Vouvray is home to the noble Chenin Blanc, more commonly known as Pineau de la Loire, in their part of the world. The Champalou family, with their ideal soils and climate, are regarded as Chenin specialists, their diverse cuvées representing the finest of Vouvray.
Vouvray wine comes from the Loire Valley wine region of France, in the Touraine district. The Touraine region enjoys warm summers and a long ripening season, thanks to slowly dropping autumn temperatures. In some years, the appellation's unique microclimates can induce noble rot, a beloved feature in certain vintages. The terroir comprises clay, rocky limestone, and silex (flint), overlaying the tuffeau bedrock, the chalky base lending freshness and finesse to the wines. The Champalou's portfolio, remarkably, spans all five styles of Pineau—pétillant, sec, demi-sec, moelleux, and liquoreux.
Sustainability lies at the heart of the Champalou estate, which spans twenty-two hectares of Chenin Blanc. The vineyard's management is rooted in eco-conscious practices, incorporating biodynamic principles such as the lunar calendar. Cover crops between the rows help absorb excess water and boost biodiversity, and the number of tractor passages is limited to reduce emissions and prevent soil compaction. The estate also adopts a seven-year fallow period, allowing the soil to regenerate before replanting.
The Champalou family's touch in the cellar mirrors their attention in the vineyard. Their wines are elegant, tender, aromatic, and impeccably balanced, embodying their unique, unparalleled style.
Continuity and evolution coexist at the domaine, with Didier and Catherine's daughter, Céline, taking the reins in 2006 after extensive internships worldwide.
Their 2021 Champalou Vouvray Sec, a still, dry rendition, exemplifies their unparalleled craftsmanship. Aged in stainless steel, it captures the essence of Loire Chenin Blanc with a gentle and refreshing palate, a balanced stony minerality with almost honeyed fruit and flowery notes. This wine is an exquisite apéritif or versatile pairing with various dishes, from a simple wild rice salad to grilled trout.
The history of viticulture in Vouvray stretches back to the Middle Ages, with the Catholic Church maintaining the vineyards. Then, the 18th and 19th centuries witnessed the rise of sparkling wine, thanks to advanced wine cellars built in the tuffeau rocks. With the conferment of the AOC status in 1936, Vouvray solidified its reputation as a premier wine-producing region.
The unique geography of Vouvray provides one-of-a-kind climatic conditions, promoting the development of the Botrytis cinerea fungus (known as noble rot) for producing sweet-style wines. Yet, producers lean towards sec or sparkling wines in cooler years, adapting seamlessly to the climate.
The terroir's crown jewel, the tuffeau, a type of limestone rich in calcium carbonate, balances water retention, and drainage, protecting vines from drought and waterlogging. Layered with clay and siliceous deposits, it imparts a distinctive taste to Vouvray's Chenin Blanc, setting it apart from other regions like Savennières.
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