Champagne Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs Les Crayères Vieilles Vignes NV Base 16, Disg Jul 23

Champagne Egly-Ouriet Les Crayères Vieilles Vignes is a grand cru blanc de noirs from a single Ambonnay parcel planted in 1946.

Ambonnay is one of the Montagne de Reims grand crus that built Pinot Noir’s reputation in Champagne, and Les Crayères is the site most closely associated with the Egly family. It was the critic Michel Bettane who encouraged Francis Egly to bottle it separately, and the first release came from the 1989 harvest. The vines were planted in 1946, an age almost unheard of in the region. Barely thirty centimetres of soil sits above chalk that runs hundreds of metres down, which is what gives the site its name, craie being French for chalk. The parcel lies mid-slope with a full southern exposure, close to the cellars. This bottling is half 2016 base and half 2015 reserve wine, both vinified and aged entirely in barrel; the 2016 spent close to a year in cask before blending. Bottled in 2017, it spent seventy-two months on lees and was disgorged in July 2023.

Drinking well now and with the depth to hold for another ten years. Serve at 8°C with roast poultry, mushroom tart or a mature hard cheese.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.