Coteaux du Layon

Coteaux du Layon (French pronunciation: [kɔto dy lɛjɔ̃]) is an Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) for sweet white wine in the Loire Valley wine region of France.^[1] Coteaux du Layon is situated in the Anjou district of the region, along the river Layon, which is a tributary of the Loire. Six of the villages (communes), namely Beaulieu-sur-Layon, Faye-d'Anjou, Rablay-sur-Layon, Rochefort-sur-Loire, Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné and Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay are allowed to add their name to that of the appellation. Usually, the "de" or "sur" part is dropped, to give names like Coteaux du Layon Beaulieu and Coteaux du Layon Saint-Aubin. Furthermore, two villages within the Coteaux du Layon area form their own respective AOC – Bonnezeaux and Chaume. Finally, a favoured enclave within Chaume is a separate AOC under the name Quarts de Chaume. For the geographically delimited AOCs, required grape maturity is higher and allowed yield is lower. The best vineyards are generally located on the north bank of the Layon, where they enjoy a good sun exposure on roughly south-facing slopes. Coteaux du Layon including its enclave appellations cover about 1,400 hectares (3,500 acres) in the early 2000s.^[1]

The wines of Coteaux du Layon are all made from Chenin blanc, locally often called Pineau de la Loire. Often, the grapes are harvested when they are affected by noble rot, but can also be merely very ripe or have sun-dried on the vine, so-called passerillé grapes. While Coteaux du Layon wines are never dry, the level of sweetness varies. Simpler wines from the basic appellation could best be described as semi-sweet, while some producers – nicknamed "sugar hunters" – produce very sweet wines with an intense botrytis character similar to a Trockenbeerenauslese. Some, but not all of these very sweet wines are labelled Sélection de Grains Nobles. However, it has been claimed that since the late 1990s, fewer producers try to get the sweetness of their wines up to the very extreme levels sought by many "sugar hunters" during the 1990s.^[1]