Quarts-de-Chaume

Overview of the Loire wine-growing regions. Quarts-de-Chaume belongs to the Anjou region (reddish-colored area near Angers) and lies on the Layon River.

Quarts-de-Chaume is the name of a wine-growing region in the Loire region (wine-growing region) . It is an enclave within the Denomination of Origin Coteaux-du-Layon in the Anjou sub-area (wine-growing region) . Quarts-de-Chaume is located in the municipality of Rochefort-sur-Loire in the Maine-et-Loire department , about 16 kilometers south of Angers . The vineyard area is 54 hectares (as of 2005).

Quarts means quarter in French : the name Quarts-de-Chaume alludes to the best quarter in the region.

Quarts-de-Chaume has had the status of an Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) since August 10, 1954 . The vines grow on steep slopes facing south on the right bank of the Layon River , a tributary of the Loire .

Only sweet white wines are produced from the Chenin Blanc grape variety . The grapes should be infested with noble rot (see also Botrytis cinerea ) and are harvested by hand in several passes for better selection of the overripe grapes.

The yields are very low - the basic yields should not exceed 25 hl / hectare. The alcohol content must be at least 12 °, whereby the sugar is not completely fermented (a minimum residual sugar content of 34 g / liter is required). The wine is golden in color; the fragrance is floral and perfumed. It is drunk no earlier than five years after the harvest. It can be stored for at least 20 years. The drinking temperature is 8 ° C.

In the same area there is a second appellation, Chaume .

Delimitation from the other sub-areas of the Coteaux-du-Layon

The legal templates for the individual appellations differ as follows.

AOC	Yield limit (hectoliters per hectare)	minimum must weight (in grams / liter)	Minimum alcohol content in the wine	Minimum residual sugar content in the wine (in grams / liter)	Others
Coteaux du Layon	35 hl / ha	221 g / l	11%	34 g / l
Coteaux du Layon + municipality name	30 hl / ha	238 g / l	12%	34 g / l
Coteaux du Layon (+ municipality name) + designation Sélection de grains nobles		294 g / l			No chaptalization allowed; The berry selection character must be confirmed in a sensory test.
Bonnezeaux	25 hl / ha	238 g / l	12%	34 g / l	The berries must be harvested when overripe and may be affected by noble rot (but do not have to)
Chaume	25 hl / ha	272 g / l	12%	68 g / l	The berries must be harvested in a partially rosinated state or be affected by noble rot. If the natural must weight exceeds 323 g / l, the minimum alcohol content of the wine is 11% instead of 12%
Quarts de Chaume	25 hl / ha	238 g / l	12%	34 g / l	The berries must be harvested when overripe and may be affected by noble rot (but do not have to)

Individual evidence

1. ^ INAO: Specifications of the AOC Chaume, last revised on April 27, 2007
2. ^ INAO: Specifications of the AOC Coteaux du Layon, last revised on February 21, 2007
3. ^ INAO: Specifications of the AOC Bonnezeaux, last time on October 10, 2003
4. ^ INAO: Specifications of the AOC Qarts de Chaume, last time on October 10, 2003

literature

• Jancis Robinson : The Oxford Wine Lexicon . Gräfe and Unzer Verlag, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-7742-0914-6 .
• Pierre Galet : Cépages et Vignobles de France . Lavoisier Publishing House, Paris 2004, ISBN 2-7430-0585-8 . (French language)
• Benoît France: Grand Atlas des Vignobles de France . Éditions SOLAR publishing house, Paris 2002, ISBN 2-263-03242-8 . (French language)