NV Egly-Ouriet 'Les Premices'

Egly-Ouriet, based in the village of Ambonnay in the Montagne de Reims, was established in 1930. The Champagne house has become a reference point for grower Champagne and rose to greatness under current owner Francis Egly, who took over the family estate in 1982. It is a small estate of 12 hectares with great holdings of vineyards in Grand Cru and Premier Cru villages. Egly firmly believes that extended lees aging is crucial for expressing the terroir of his wines, giving the wines great complexity for which this grower is rightly famous. The lees aging for the wines ranges remarkably from 40 months to nearly 100 months for the vintage one. The results speak for themselves! Why do we like it? This is only the second release of that wine and is an equal blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier coming from 3.5 hectares of vineyards in Trigny, northwest of Reims. The vines are, on average, 40 years old. Egly signature is always low yields, hand harvesting of fully ripe fruit, no inoculation and long lees aging without fining or filtration. It' spectacular, showing great depth of flavours with baked apple and quince, some grilled toast, touch of nuttiness, and great mouthfeel! Grape           Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Meunier Country        France                                  Region          Champagne                                        Vintage         NV