12% abv, Earl du Petit Clocher, Vignobles Denis, Cléré-sur-Layon, imported by Chatelaine Inc., Dallas, TX.
The luciously sweet wines of the Loire River Valley’s Anjou district are a real pleasure. It is here along the Loire and its tributary the Layon that the river bends just so and the misty enclaves provide an ideal environment for the noble rot that can shrivel Chenin Blanc berries to mere raisins of sticky sweet golden juice. Above and beyond the humble Coteaux du Layon AOC, there are the Premier cru vineyards of Chaume and Grand Cru of Quarts de Chaume which can rival the prices of the similarly-styled wines Sauternes and Barsac wines from Bordeaux; but Coteaux du Layon can provide immense pleasure for a fraction of the price.
The Domaine du Petit Clocher is an ambitious producer with 80 hectares of vines built over the last half century for a range of wines from dry to sweet, and white and pink to red.
The 2015 Coteaux du Layon is deep amber with a gold core; a clean nose of dried peach, dried apple, beeswax, Royal jelly, and saffron. This wine is sweet, with high acid, medium alcohol, a very full body, and a medium plus finish that carries harmoniously with fine balance and flavors of acacia blossom, candied apricot and Saturn peach, marmalade, wildflower honey, buttered pasty, and vanilla bean. Drink now or through 2030. Very good 9.3/10
