EGLY-OURIET
Tradition Brut Grand Cru Ambonnay
| Grapes | Pinot Noir, Chardonnay |
| Colour | White |
| Origin | France, Champagne |
| Village | Ambonnay |
| Classification | Grand Cru |
| ABV | 12.5% |
Francis Egly’s wines seem to have become real cult classics. This is their most classically styled cuvée, and it has all the hallmarks of this great producer. Weight and power – but lift and drive too. Clever satisfying stuff with so many layers of interest. The wine is fermented using natural yeast and aged on the lees for a year so that the wines clarify slowly, before they are bottled without fining or filtering. The cuvée (70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay) is a rich, full-bodied with evolved flavours this is really delicious drinking, while still fresh and beautifully balanced. L&S (Mar 2005)
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Even though it was only Disgorged: a few months ago, the NV Brut Tradition Grand Cru is super-expressive. The Brut Tradition brings together parcels in Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay that, together, yield a Pinot-driven Champagne with tremendous breadth as well as cut. Red fruit, dried flowers, mint, spice and lemon confit are some of the aromas and flavors that build in this wonderfully open-knit, inviting Champagne from Egly-Ouriet. Disgorged: July, 2020. Drinking range: 2021 - 2030 Rating: 92 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Nov 2020)
Very classical aromas of toast, nuts and patisserie lead to a palate that's round and savoury with very attractive richness and complexity. Flavours of nuts, cream and candied fruits are given lovely balance, elegance, persistence and length by the wonderful acidity. Deliciously good - a serious fizz. Decanter.com/Premium - a tasting of Champagne vs English Sparkling, coming in third behind Krug NV and Selosse Initial (both 95) Rating: 94 Decanter Magazine (Dec 2019)
I indulged in two classics, the NV Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Tradition and the 2014 Domaine Rostaing Côte-Rôtie Ampodium. The former was its usual delightful self; not just a great way to start off the meal, but also lovely throughout the entirety of the dinner. I found that the red fruit, dried pear, ginger and sweet spice flavors and rich texture nicely stood up even to the duck meat. Drinking range: 2019 - 2025 Rating: 92 Ian d'Agata, www.vinousmedia.com (Oct 2019)
Champagne Egly-Ouriet
Francis Egly is the current fourth-generation head of Ambonnay Champagne grower-producer Egly-Ouriet. He took over from his father Michel in 1981, who had prepared the ground well (literally) since he was one of the few growers who refused to use degraded urban waste as fertiliser in the 1970s, a policy which still results in plastic and metals debris being common in many of the vineyards now. The Egly-Ouriet vineyards had never seen inorganic fertiliser or herbicides.
Francis declares himeself as against 'vins stereotypés', believing that his mission is 'to please but also to surprise', and insisting that 'the biggest mistake in Champagne is to go against nature'.
With the exception of the Pinot Meunier vines in Vrigny, and the new vineyrad in Bisseuil, the 12 hectare estate is exclusively Grand Cru, stretching across Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay. Pinot Noir is planted on 7 ha, Chardonnay on 2 ha, and the average age of the vines is more than 35 years. The exposure of many of the vines is south or south east, which gives exceptional ripeness, while the poverty of the shallow and chalky subsoil give a strong mineral streak.
The already high natural ripeness levels are raised higher still by the green-harvesting. Egly is adamant that acidity is not fundamental, and almost always sufficient, while bitterness is always fatal. An advocate of 'lutte raisonée' he avoids all insecticides, uses only organic fertilisers and continues to plough as his predecessors have always done.
In the cellar, Francis is a great believer in the best technology as well as the best of tradition. His two advanced Coquard presses installed in 2008 allowed him to increase precision in the pressing and obtain greater elegance. The juice from the presses falls onto cooling plates which quickly reduce the temperature to around 10C, so that the fermentations (in barrel) start slowly, giving greater aromatic nuance. For the red wine he worked with Dominique Laurent to refine his use of oak and the quality of the barrels. His son and daughter work with him in this family enterprise.
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