Champagne Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru Brut Rosé NV Disg. May 1.5L MAGNUM 2016

Egly-Ouriet's grand cru rosé in magnum, coloured with still red wine made from Ambonnay Pinot Noir.

The Egly family has made wine at Ambonnay, on the southern face of the Montagne de Reims, since about 1930, and Francis Egly has been in charge since 1982. The estate farms grand cru vines at Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay, around seventy per cent Pinot Noir to thirty per cent Chardonnay, averaging some forty years old, plus premier cru Meunier at Vrigny. Yields are low and the fruit is picked late at full ripeness. The Brut Rosé follows the same blend proportions, seventy per cent Pinot Noir to thirty per cent Chardonnay, with Ambonnay rouge — the village's long-standing speciality — added for colour. Base wines are whole-bunch pressed, fermented on wild yeasts partly in Burgundian barrels, bottled unfined and unfiltered, and given more than three years on lees before disgorgement with a dosage of two to five grams. In magnum the wine ages more slowly and arrives fresher.

Drinking now and better suited to the table than the aperitif hour. Serve at 8–10°C with roast duck, salmon or a plate of charcuterie. This bottling was disgorged in May 2016.