Egly Ouriet

Egly-Ouriet is a family estate in the grand cru village of Ambonnay, on the Montagne de Reims, and for many people it is the finest grower producer in all of Champagne. Francis Egly, the fourth generation, has run the domaine since 1982, farming grand cru vineyards in Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay and bottling everything at the estate.

The approach owes more to fine Burgundy than to the big houses: old vines, low yields, fermentation in oak for the main cuvées and years of ageing on the lees before release. Les Prémices, the wine we stock, is the gentlest way in, a roughly equal blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier from vines at Trigny, north-west of Reims, raised in stainless steel. It still tastes unmistakably of the house.