NEW RELEASES:
Unmissable - the latest Champagnes of Egly-Ouriet
If the region today produces wines fit to stand alongside the greatest of the world and if small growers now set the qualitative standards in a region long defined by large négociants, Francis Egly must take a considerable share of the credit.
Kristaps Karklins, robertparker.com, May 2025
Please find below our offer of the newly released Champagnes from Egly-Ouriet - perhaps the most hotly anticipated set of releases of the year.
1) It isn’t difficult to understand why these wines are so avidly followed
2) Few producers in Champagne hit the heights of Egly-Ouriet
3) Few producers produce Champagnes of such consistently high quality as those of Egly-Ouriet
4) Few producers deliver that consistency up and down the scale as Egly-Ouriet does
5) Few people have the drive and focus of Francis Egly
6) Few Champagnes offer greater value than Egly’s Grand Cru Extra Brut
If you have followed the wines of Egly-Ouriet over the last few years, these comments won’t be new to you, but their validity remains, nonetheless.
I don’t say it lightly, but I have never had a bad bottle of Egly-Ouriet, and I have had quite a number over the years. Whether it is the Grand Cru Extra Brut, the Vignes de Vrigny or the Vignes de Bisseuil, the quality and consistency up and down the scale are awe-inspiring. It takes meticulous attention to detail to achieve this; the wines barely fluctuate, despite the differences in blend that take place year on year. Simply put, this estate ranks as one of the very best producers in all of Champagne (and I include all in that statement).
I have written it before, but every time I get the chance to taste an Egly-Ouriet Champagne I am struck by the precision and purity. They are highly individual Champagnes that are now receiving the credit they are due. Certainly, over the last decade, critics have started to recognise the quality inherent in these Champagnes and, consequently, stocks tick through a lot faster than they used to and pressure on allocations is significantly greater. Luckily, we receive good allocations and regularly hold the NV Grand Cru Extra Brut in stock, which invariably shows far better for a year or two in bottle.
As a company we focus on individual grower Champagnes over and above the wines of the Grandes Marques and larger producers. Why? Simply put, it is a combination of quality, value and individuality. If these wines have increased in price, it is on account of market demand, rather than marketing expenditure. The Eglys are not obsessed with product positioning, nor are they shelling out on sponsorship, instead they are solely focused on producing the finest wines they can, and they are highly skilled at that. I still struggle to understand why clients pay more for a lesser wine just because it is from a familiar, promoted name, when many of the most exciting wines in Champagne emanate from smaller-scale growers who have holdings on specific terroirs.
Antonio Galloni and William Kelley regularly heap praise on Egly-Ouriet. Newly recruited Champagne reviewer, Kristaps Karklins, who works alongside Kelley at robertparker.com commented in May of this year, that ‘As vinous and concentrated as they are seamless and elegant, these wines occupy an important place in the recent history of Champagne. If the region today produces wines fit to stand alongside the greatest of the world and if small growers now set the qualitative standards in a region long defined by large négociants, Francis Egly must take a considerable share of the credit.’
We are yet to see a write up on the new releases, including the 2016 Millésime, from either vinous.com or robertparker.com, but only a mad man would anticipate anything other than strong reviews.
And for those of you who may not know the background of the estate, here is my short summary of the key points, which I hope is useful in giving a brief overview:
- Egly’s wines draw on fruit from old vines in the Grand Cru villages of Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay. This comment applies to his superb NV Grand Cru Extra Brut as much as to the most heralded wines in his range, in all of which only Grand Cru fruit is employed. The only exceptions are the Vignes de Vrigny, which is made from Premier Cru-classified Pinot Meunier, the relatively recently introduced ‘Les Premices’ from Trigny, and the Vignes de Bisseuil, also classified Premier Cru.
- All of Egly’s wines are aged well beyond the norm before release. Nothing is hurried at all chez Egly; each cuvée benefits, in terms of complexity, from extended ageing of at least four years on lees in bottle, way ahead of the statutory minimum for Champagne. The Vieillissement Prolongé (or V.P. for short) is the most extreme example, spending 84 months on its lees.
- All of Egly’s wines are low dosage (dosage relates to the amount of sugar in the liqueur d’expedition that is added after the disgorgement process. This adjusts the wine’s overall sweetness/dryness). In Egly’s wines, there is nothing to mar the sheer purity of the fruit.
All of Egly’s wines are capable of developing in bottle, growing in complexity – this comment applies to the NV Grand Cru Extra Brut as it does across the range.
- And finally, these wines are produced in smaller quantities than most of the Champagnes with which you may be familiar; they are not seeking to further the aspirations of a brand, but rather to represent their origins. They are a far cry from some of the near-debased, commercial output of many famous names in Champagne. Making wines of such high and unerring quality requires not only considerable practical skill, but equally near maniacal focus. That’s exactly what you get with Egly-Ouriet.
NV Les Prémices
£210 per 6 bottle case in bond
An equal blend of the three Champagne varieties, Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay. The fruit comes from the village of Trigny in the Massif de Saint-Thierry. 50% from the 2021 vintage. 30% from 2020 and 20% from 2019. Dosage: Just 2 grams per litre.
NV Les Vignes de Vrigny 1er Cru
£260 per 6 bottle case in bond
A cuvée which is made exclusively from old vines of Pinot Meunier. The fruit comes from the Vrigny vineyard which is classified Premier Cru. 50% from the 2021 vintage, 30% from 2020 and 20% from 2019. Dosage: Just 2 grams per litre.
NV Les Vignes de Bisseuil 1er Cru
£295 per 6 bottle case in bond
The latest addition to the range is Les Vignes de Bisseuil. This a Chardonnay-dominant cuvée – something highly unusual chez Egly-Ouriet, where Pinot Noir is normally in the ascendancy. 70% Chardonnay with 15% each of Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The base wine is vinified in wood, then aged in their cellars for four years before disgorgement. 50% from the 2020 vintage, 30% from 2019, and 20% from 2018. Dosage: Just 2 grams per litre.
NV Grand Cru Extra Brut
£330 per 6 bottle case in bond
Purely from Grand Cru fruit from their vineyards in Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay. The flagship NV is vinified entirely in wood, and the base wines are aged on their lees for approaching a year. No corners are cut here; the wine clarifies slowly as would have been the practice in a bygone era. The assemblage is always 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. 50% from the 2020 vintage, 30% from 2019 and 20% from 2018. Dosage: 1 gram per litre.
NV Grand Cru Rosé
£450 per 6 bottle case in bond
(LIMITED TO ONE CASE PER CLIENT)
The Grand Cru Rosé comes from the same vineyards as the NV Brut Grand Cru, namely Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay. It is vinified entirely in wood. 5% of still Pinot Noir from the estate’s Coteaux Champenois vineyards is blended in, so this is a rosé made by blending still red wine rather than by the saignée method (where colour bleeds from the skins). 50% is from the 2019 vintage, 30% is from 2018 and 20% is from 2017. The assemblage is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. Dosage: Just 1 gram per litre.
NV Grand Cru V.P. (Vieillisement Prolongé)
£450 per 6 bottle case in bond
(LIMITED TO ONE CASE PER CLIENT)
An extraordinary wine which is aged for 7 years on its lees before disgorgement. Once more it is vinified entirely in wood. It is a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay and demonstrates the capacity that Grand Cru vineyards have in producing fruit with the structure to age long-term. 50% comes from the 2017 vintage, 30% from 2016 and 20% from 2015. Dosage: 2 grams per litre.
NV Grand Cru Blanc de Noirs, Les Crayères, Vieilles Vignes
£975 per 6 bottle case in bond
(LIMITED TO ONE CASE PER CLIENT)
Arguably the finest wine produced by the Eglys, this wine comes from a parcel of old Pinot Noir vines planted in 1946/1947. The vines are planted on an exceptional terroir where the chalk is apparent at just 30cm and extends to several dozen metres in depth, hence the name of the vineyard, Les Crayères. The roots of the vines have worked their way deep into the chalk, picking up a distinctive chalky minerality, outstanding elegance too, while the old Pinot vines bring notes of red fruits and a noticeable power and concentration. This cuvée has the capacity to age long-term. It is entirely vinified in oak. 50% is from the 2018 vintage and 50% from 2017. Dosage: Just 1 gram per litre.
2016 Grand Cru Brut Millésime
£1,525 per 6 bottle case in bond
(LIMITED TO ONE CASE PER CLIENT)
According to Francis Egly, the 2016 vintage shows fine tension and great potential for ageing. A humid spring was followed by a hot, dry summer, which tested the vines. Cooler, more clement weather towards harvest allowed the vines to recover, and harvest was completed in mid-September under good conditions. It was vinified entirely in oak and is a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. Dosage: Just 1 gram per litre.
2012 Grand Brut Millésime (Magnums)
£1,895 per 3 magnum case in bond
(LIMITED TO ONE CASE PER CLIENT)
Previously released in bottles, now released in magnums. Not prone to hyperbole, the Eglys describe this as a very complex vintage, with the elegance of the 2002 vintage, allied to the power of the 2008. 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay. Dosage: 1 gram per litre
99 points, William Kelley, robertparker.com
Broad and powerful, Egly's 2012 Brut Grand Cru Millésime is a serious, vinous Champagne somewhat reminiscent of his brilliant 2002. Delivering complex aromas of pear, honeycomb, orange oil, sweet stone fruits, praline and freshly baked bread, it's full-bodied, deep and muscular, with a multidimensional core of fruit, racy acids and a long, resonant finish. Complex and compelling, readers will have a hard time choosing between the power and texture of 2012 and the quintessentially elegant, seamless 2013. Both are benchmarks for what contemporary Champagne can achieve. Drink: 2023-2045
98 points, Antonio Galloni, vinous.com
The 2012 Brut Millésime Grand Cru is a Champagne of tremendous finesse and nuance, with the Chardonnay really driving the balance today. Chalk, white pepper, mint, sage and dried pear are some of the notes that come alive in the glass. Readers will find a brilliant, finely cut Champagne endowed with tremendous energy, especially for the year. This is pure class.