Appellation
Coteaux de l'Aubance
Identity card
VillageAOPSweet
Loire Valley · Recognised on 18 February 1950
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- Overripe grapes, hand-picked in successive passes.
- At most 35 hl/ha; at least 14% natural alcohol and 34 g/l of sugar.
- Seven communes south-west of Angers, along the Aubance.
Grape varieties
Production rules
35
hl/ha
Maximum yield
14
% ABV
Minimum natural alcohol
Minimum ageing: At least until 15 February of the year after the harvest
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 20 hl/ha to 50 hl/ha across 9 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum natural alcohol
- The alcohol the grapes' own sugar must be able to give, without enrichment: a ripeness threshold at harvest. For reference: 12 % ABV to 18 % ABV across 9 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Small, gentle slopes, 50 to 90 m up
- Soils: Armorican schist and sandstone; shallow soils
- Climate: Sheltered by the Mauges: 585 mm a year
Wine style
- white fruit, citrus
- floral notes
- dried or candied fruit
- can age for decades
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
5 December 2025
Order of 5 December 2025 approving the specification of the AOC “Coteaux de l'Aubance” (AGRT2527076A), JORF no. 0296 of 18 December 2025, text no. 60 (BO no. 52 of 25 December 2025). Appellation first recognised by the decree of 18 February 1950.
Labelling terms
- "Sélection de grains nobles" (SGN): at least 19% natural alcohol, vintage shown
- SGN: aged until at least 1 June of the second year after the harvest
- The geographical name "Vin de Loire" may be added
- A registered lieu-dit may be named, in smaller type
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Coteaux de l'Aubance »— Institut national de l'origine et de la qualité (INAO) / Ministère de l'agriculture
South-west of Angers, the appellation covers seven communes of Maine-et-Loire along the Aubance, a small tributary of the Loire, on gently sloping hills. It makes only still white wines, medium-sweet or sweet, from Chenin Blanc alone, from overripe grapes concentrated on the vine, with or without noble rot, and picked by hand in successive passes. The shallow soils lie on the schists of the Armorican Massif, in a sheltered pocket of low rainfall. The "sélection de grains nobles" term is kept for wines from grapes concentrated by noble rot.
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Coteaux de l'Aubance
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