France — wine

Coteaux du Layon AOC

The Coteaux du Layon is the Loire Valley's most important sweet wine appellation — a series of hillside sites along the Layon tributary south of Angers where autumn morning mists from the river allow Botrytis cinerea (noble rot) to concentrate Chenin Blanc into extraordinary sweet wines. The six communes of Chaume, Beaulieu, Faye d'Anjou, Rablay, Rochefort, and St-Aubin de Luigné each express different character from the schist and shallow clay soils. Quarts de Chaume is the single grand cru, producing wines that age for 50+ years.

Year Rating Notes
2023 Layon autumn mists provided reliable botrytis formation; Chenin Blanc achieved characteristic sweet concentration with vibrant acidity.
2022 Outstanding Loire sweet wine vintage; warm summer followed by ideal autumn mist produced Quarts de Chaume of exceptional depth.
2021 Mixed year; autumn conditions were variable; careful selection produced honest Coteaux du Layon of decent concentration.
2020 Fine Layon vintage; Baumard achieved multiple late harvesting passes through November producing moelleux of remarkable intensity.
2019 Landmark Loire sweet wine vintage; Quarts de Chaume reached 50-year ageing potential — one of the great vintages in the grand cru's history.