Winemaker Notes
The grapes for the Vouvray Brut are picked at maturity, and early in the morning to best respect the quality of the fruit. The must is then fermented in stainless steel and the wine is raised on fine lees before bottling. A second natural fermentation takes place once the wine is in bottle that gives its effervescence. The bottles are aged sur lattes for two years before disgorgement.
A blend of three different vintages per cuvée.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
This extra-brut blend of three vintages comes from Chenin Blanc vines that average 45 years of age. A compelling nose of toast, cream, quince, and stony minerality all but belies the succulence of the round entry, combining bright mango and baked apple that evolve in the mouth toward more savory, streamlined herb- flecked lemon and almond.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The Champalou Vouvray Brut is fresh, delicate, and refined. Made from 100% Chenin Blanc (as required by law), this wine is an excellent alternative to Champagne, Cava, and other more prominent members of the sparkling wine world. The fresh and sprightly finish makes it a fine choice with light appetizers.
A term typically reserved for Champagne and Sparkling Wines, non-vintage or simply “NV” on a label indicates a blend of finished wines from different vintages (years of harvest). To make non-vintage Champagne, typically the current year’s harvest (in other words, the current vintage) forms the base of the blend. Finished wines from previous years, called “vins de reserve” are blended in at approximately 10-50% of the total volume in order to achieve the flavor, complexity, body and acidity for the desired house style. A tiny proportion of Champagnes are made from a single vintage.
There are also some very large production still wines that may not claim one particular vintage. This would be at the discretion of the winemaker’s goals for character of the final wine.
An important white wine appellation in the Touraine and one of the top in all of the Loire, Vouvray uniquely specializes in a wide range of styles from dry to sweet, and still to sparkling, each with its own definitive character. Vouvray is almost always 100% Chenin blanc (however up to 5% Menu Pineau is theoretically allowed but not often used).
Vouvray is also the name of a pretty little town just east of Tours on the northern bank of the Loire—its vineyards surround it to the northeast. Houses and cellars are carved out of the local tuffeau, a chalky or sandy, fine-grained limestone. Vineyards inhabit clay and gravel topsoil over tuffeau on the plateau, the best of which have a slight slope with a southerly aspect.
Chenin blanc’s high acidity and natural adaptability allow it to produce a wide range of styles with enormous success. Styles under the Vouvray name include sparkling, both Brut and Demi-Sec and still: Sec (dry) and Tendre (off-dry) as well as Demi-Sec (noticeably sweet), Moelleux (very sweet) and Liquoreaux (botrytized). Most can age about five years but the best quality versions will continue to improve over decades.