Réserve Champalou Vouvray 2022

While Sancerre and Pouilly Fumé’s winemakers compete for limelight with Sauvignon, producers in Vouvray are quietly getting on with crafting one of the Loire’s most classic whites. Top grape here is Chenin Blanc, a wonderfully versatile variety that has been grown here for centuries. Sweethearts Didier and Catherine Champalou bought half a hectare of vines in 1983 – harvesting their first precious crop three years later. Today they have 21 hectares of Chenin spread across the region, on a selection of terroirs, so they can produce a small range of truly outstanding, largely biodynamic wines. Their daughter Céline is now winemaker. With freshness and delicate honeyed notes, their Réserve white makes a fine apéritif or partner to shellfish.