Coteaux de l'Aubance l'Embrumée 2022 Domaine du Matin Calme

The Coteaux de l'Aubance L'Embrumée 2022 from Domaine du Matin Calme is the most ambitious and precious cuvée from this young Angevin domaine, a confidential bottling of just 500 bottles, awarded two stars in the 2025 Hachette Wine Guide. It embodies all the character and singularity of Coteaux de l'Aubance, this botrytised Chenin of remarkable richness, density and opulence, born from the morning mists of the Aubance valley that encourage noble rot to develop on carefully selected bunches.

The terroir and domaine

Anne-Laura Aulon and Victor Robion established themselves at Juigné-sur-Loire after working and travelling throughout France and beyond, including five years in Sancerre that instilled in them a taste for precision and terroir expression. Their 16.5-hectare domaine sits across four distinct terroirs of remarkable geological richness: schist, sandy schist, alluvial sands and pebbles, and volcanic rock, a mosaic of soils that gives rise to the diversity and complexity of their cuvées. The L'Embrumée cuvée comes from a careful parcel selection of Chenin on schist, the terroir that gives the variety its natural tension, fine minerality, and ability to concentrate, in years favourable to botrytisation, natural sugars of incomparable richness and aromatic complexity. The morning mist of the Aubance valley, a small tributary of the Louet that runs alongside the vineyard, is the appellation's defining climatic phenomenon, fostering the development of Botrytis cinerea, the noble rot fungus that concentrates the berries and develops the honey, saffron and candied fruit aromas that define great Coteaux de l'Aubance. The ageing takes place in oak cask, with careful handling that brings complexity and depth without masking the purity of the fruit and mineral tension of the schistous terroir. The domaine is undergoing organic certification.

Tasting profile

The colour is a deep gold with amber glints, luminous and dense, the characteristic hue of a botrytised Chenin aged in oak. The nose is rich and generous: candied apple and honey emerge with elegance, accompanied by notes of dried apricot, beeswax and gentle spices, saffron and cinnamon, with a judiciously dosed oak base that adds complexity without heaviness. Botrytisation brings that characteristic roasted hazelnut and dried fruit note that marks the great sweet wines of the Loire. On the palate, the wine is fleshy, dense and opulent, a fine sweet wine of layered nuance, its residual sweetness perfectly balanced by the natural acidity of Chenin, which brings freshness, tension and length to the rich, enveloping texture. The finish is long, golden and persistent, lingering over candied fruit, honey and schistous minerality that confirm the excellence of the terroir. A wine for cellaring and contemplation, keep for at least ten years to reveal its full complexity.

The domaine

Anne-Laura Aulon and Victor Robion embody the new generation of Angevin vignerons, attentive to terroir and precise in their Chenin approach, capable of drawing from their four distinct terroirs a range of remarkable coherence and personality. After their years of training and travel, they chose Anjou as their expression and Chenin as their chosen variety, a demanding and temperamental grape, capable of brilliance or mediocrity, but in the hands of rigorous vignerons it reveals a depth and complexity that rivals the great Chardonnays of Burgundy or Alsatian Rieslings.

Food pairings

This Coteaux de l'Aubance L'Embrumée pairs beautifully with lightly cooked foie gras with gentle spices, aged Roquefort with caramelised walnuts, pear and Gorgonzola tart, yellow fruit desserts such as Tarte Tatin or apricot cake, or a cheese board of blue-veined varieties like Stilton or Bleu des Causses. It can also be enjoyed alone, in quiet contemplation, lightly chilled at 10–12 °C, to fully appreciate the richness and complexity of a great botrytised Loire Chenin.