Vintages: 2015 (60%), 2014 (40%)
Bottling: 2016
Disgorgement: July 2022
Time on lees: 72 months
The fruit comes from old vines in a single terroir known as Les Crayères. The vines here were planted in 1946, so are now 75 years old (vines of this age are extremely rare in Champagne). Here the soil is barely 30cm deep, then it’s chalk, hundreds of metres down—hence the name of the site (craie is French for ‘chalk’, crayères means chalk quarries). Les Crayères is situated mid-slope with a full south-facing exposure, not far from the estate’s cellars. The old vines are deeply rooted, giving the wine a classic, mineral energy that weaves its way through the powerful, layered Pinot fruit. The deep concentration is a product of the ripeness and low yields that both the site and its ancient vines naturally deliver.
The wine is both a tribute to the greatest sites of Ambonnay and to the Egly-Ouriet domaine. Houses that emphasise blending may consider a 100% old-vine Ambonnay like this to be too intense; Egly gives it to you pure and powerful! And with a minimal dosage of two grams per litre. It’s a unique wine, built for food and for aging. A unique expression of a singular terroir, and right up there when talking about candidates for the region’s greatest wine. It’s certainly the greatest Blanc de Noirs we know of.
“A blend of the 2015 and 2014 vintages, Egly’s emblematic NV Brut Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru Les Crayères was disgorged this year with only one gram per liter dosage. Bursting with aromas of mirabelle plum, Anjou pear and green apple mingled with notions of freshly baked bread, honeycomb and praline, it’s full-bodied, layered and multidimensional, its satiny attack segueing into a deep, layered mid-palate of striking texture and concentration. Concluding with a long, intensely saline finish, it’s another brilliant wine from a great producer at the top of his form.”
98+ Points
William Kelley, The Wine Advocate