Go sweeeeeeet !

Drive up to the Loire Valley vineyard

north west of France, my sweet little readers !

Sweet, sweet, SWEEEET !!!!

Hmmm... Now you maybe know what kind of wine I'm going to present !

Yihaaa ! Damnnnn you're right : a sweet wine !

Some of you may be be surprised I'm dealing with sweet wines from the Loire Valley. That is true that lots of people better know "Sauternes", "Barsac" and "Vin de Paille"... But there are other vineyards where you can find really good sweet wines.

In the Anjou vineyard, there are different sweet wines AOC :
- Coteaux du Layon
- Coteaux de l'Aubance
- Quarts de Chaume
- Bonnezeaux

The ONE (yes yes, the one !), I'm going to explain and taste is the

COTEAUX DE L'AUBANCE !

This is right HERE, on the map bellow, in the Anjou area :

Let's discover this AOC Coteaux de l'Aubance !

The name of the AOC comes from the Aubance, which is a river, and actually a tributary of the Loire one.

This AOC exists since 1950, and is available for 10 cities. It represents 180 hectars.

This wine is produced from the grape variety called Chenin Blanc (also known as the "Pineau de Loire"). The harvest are done manualy when the grapes are highly matured. Winemakers wait until grapes are covered with the botrytis cinerea, also called the noble rot, in autumn.

The river Aubance is very important for the spread of the noble rot.

Thanks to their exposure on the slope in the south west, on shists and clay soils, the vines can get the humidity from the fog in the morning and the cold river Aubance, and the heat in the afternoon thanks to the sun.

 

Humidity in the morning, after damp nights + Heat in the afternoon

= Noble rot

Botrytis cinerea grows, feeding on the grapes' sugars. That's why the yield is not important after harvesting. Usualy it is from 10 to 15 hectoliters per hectar. That's so yummy when you taste them directly from the vines ! In the mouth you have plenty of aromas such as peach, ananas, honey, spices, mint... But don't be affraid of how the grapes look like :

The noble rot on a Chenin Blanc grape

After harvesting, everything is gently pressed, and goes into vats (or barrels sometimes for some cuvées), for approximately a year.

And yes NOWWW you can enjoy the Coteaux de l'Aubance !!!

Let's taaaaaaste !!!!

I went to 2 vineyards :

Domaine de Montgilet, in Juigné-sur-Loire. Hold by Le Breton family.

I tasted : Coteaux de l'Aubance "Clos des Huttières" 2002

I found : sugar, honey, butter, nuts, spices, bit of mint

Antoine, from Domaine de Montgilet

Slurp slurp sluuuurp !

Château d'Avrillé, in Saint-Jean-des-Mauvrêts. Hold by Biotteau family.

I tasted : Coteaux de l'Aubance 2010

I found : honey, peach, ananas, litchi, sugar

Laura, from Château d'Avrillé

Coteaux de l'Aubance ready to taaaaaste !!

Coteaux de l'Aubance is very good with foie gras and goat cheese with honey (of couuuuuurse), but also with an apple pie, a peer covered with hot chocolate, macarons, duck...

Serve it between 8°c and 10°c.

You can keep the Coteaux de l'Aubance up to 10-15 years,

and sometimes more for the best vintages.

Adeline

Thank you to...
Laura & Charles-Eusèbe, from Château d'Avrillé, Saint-Jean-des-Mauvrêts http://www.chateau-avrille.com/
Antoine, from Domaine de Montgilet, Juigné-sur-Loire http://www.montgilet.com/