Egly-Ouriet is one of the most respected grower-producers in Champagne. Founded in 1930, Egly is still relatively small, owning only ~12 hectares of vineyards — mostly Pinot Noir (with a bit of Chardonnay) in the Grand Cru towns of Bouzy, Ambonnay, and Verzenay, plus some old-vine Meunier in Vrigny.
Though prices for Egly-Ouriet can get eye-watering (especially their millesimes), this ‘Les Premices’ (“the beginnings”) is their entry-level cuvee, retailing at “only” ~$80 USD. It is a blend of equal parts Pinot Noir, Meunier, and Chardonnay, and it spent 3 years on its lees. Egly is a low intervention producer, and this cuvee only uses indigenous yeasts, is both unfined and unfiltered, and only has 2 g/L dosage.
Tasting Notes: Vibrant, fine bubbles. Yeasty nose with red apple and orange peel. Fuller bodied than I expected, with high acidity (maybe too high?), and notes of red fruit. Medium length, fruity, and slightly tart. Overall, a nice Champagne but not quite impressive, and I feel like its price point owes some credit to the name on the label.
by DontLookBack_88
3 Comments
The king of champagne great choice
His vintage champagne is nectar of the gods
I really love Egly-Ouriet’s upper tier bottles, but I agree with your notes about Les Premices. For the same price I greatly prefer Bereche’s base bottle, Brut Reserve, to name one.
omg literally dreaming of the day i can afford egly-ouriet without eating ramen for a month.. the whole grand cru vineyard thing makes me feel fancy just reading about it.