Egly Ouriet
It's easy to see why Champagne House Egly Ouriet is wildly popular! Just one reason is the extended lees aging , which really elevates the quality. Remember most non vintage wines see on average 18-24 months before release but on offer today, the Grand Cru Extra Brut sees 4 years and the Grand Cru Vieillissement Prolonge aka “ VP ” sees almost double that!!
Both of these wines are workhorses in the lineup of Egly Ouriet, coming from the domaine’s vineyards in Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay, where pinot noir makes up the bulk of the blend. These are truly exhilarating wines that transcend their respective categories.
It would be hard to find a Champagne producer, or any vigneron for that matter, that has elevated the quality of a domaine more than Francois Egly. His considerable investment in the winery over the years, along with his meticulous vineyard practices has firmly planted Egly Ouriet among the very best!
I’ve long been a fan of their Pinot Noir based wines - I buy them at every opportunity. They offer dimension, depth and richness but at the same time a precision and freshness that not many producers achieve. I think a lot of the freshness comes from the fact that these wines see no malolatic fermentation, ✳️ which preserves a lot of that chalky minerality that makes these wines such a pleasure to drink.
VINS RARE NOTES: The Grand Cru Extra Brut is a wine made with 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay. It's aged 48 months lees after spending the first year aging and fermenting in older Burgundy barrels. The wine undergoes no malolactic fermentation, and is one of the reasons the wine maintains its focused laser sharp quality. With this being the 2024 release this would be based upon the 2018 vintage.
Based on the 2017 vintage, Egly's NV Brut Grand Cru unwinds in the glass with aromas of pear, freshly baked bread, lemon zest, tangerine and praline. Full-bodied, layered and elegantly muscular, with terrific concentration, racy acids and chalky structure, it concludes with a long, gently honeyed finish. Egly has always been enthusiastic about the quality of his Ambonnay fruit in 2017, and this bottling certainly validates his early confidence.
- Wine Advocate, 92
VINS RARE NOTES: The “VP” is also a blend of Pinot Noir (60%) and Chardonnay (40%) - it sees considerable lees aging at 7yrs and again no malolatic. This wine puts most Grand Marque champagnes to shame and it truly one of the exceptional wines produced in Champagne year in and year out. This release is based upon the 2016 vintage with reserve wine from both 2014 and 2015. This is one to own!
"The NV Champagne V.P. stands for Vieille Prolongée, because it is aged longer, seeing 7 years on the lees before disgorgement. A blend 70% Pinot and the rest Chardonnay, based on 2016 and with reserve wine from 2015 and 2014, they made this blend in 2017. Offering wonderfully pure aromas of cherry liqueur, eau de vie, fresh flowers, and crushed rocks, it's full-bodied on the palate and has broad shoulders but retains a very focused and well-defined feel, with outstanding concentration and purity, a fantastically long finish, and a remarkably youthful feel. It's beautiful now but has the potential for a lot of longevity and is going to be wonderful to check in on."
- Jeb Dunnuck, 97
