Copy of The Tiny Artisan and Iconic Cru That Make You Rethink An Entire Region -- and Grape!

Debut: The Greatest Grand Cru Burgundy and It’s Not Burgundy? It Is the Rare and Inspiring Pinot Noir from 60-Year-Old Vines and the Grower Champagne Patriarch – Egly-Ouriet. A Mere 200 Cases Produced for the World – Just 36 Bottles.

"...the most recent vintages of the red Coteau Champenois have revolutionised the style, proving themselves worthy of comparison with many of the greatest Burgundies."  Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve [The World's Greatest Wines]

“No winemaker in Champagne is more precise or meticulous, from vineyard to cellar…Far from resting on the considerable and merited laurels that he has accrued over a 30-year career, Francis Egly continues to refine and improve.” -William Kelley, Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

If you love Champagne then you know that alongside Selosse, it is Egly Ouriet that is one of the two great patriarchs of the Grower Champagne movement. As you also know Champagne makes great Grand Cru Pinot Noir destined for its eponymous sparkling wine. What may surprise you is that Champagne makes great Pinot Noir red wines – in fact, before Dom Perignon put some sparkle in the wines of the region, Champagne was known for its red wines. Well, with global warming changing the landscape, it might just be Champagne making some of the great interpretations of Pinot Noir, and certainly that would begin with Egly Ouriet. Makes even sense when you consider the quotes from the critics over the years, “If there are any Champagnes that fit the often-used description of “Burgundy with bubbles,'' Egly-Ouriet’s would be the leading candidates.”

So in addition to the coveted new sparkling release from this iconic Domaine, we are including access to the super rare rouge (red), Egly Ouriet Ambonnay Rouge Coteaux Champenois ‘Cuvée des Grands Côtes’ Vieilles Vignes. It is however, the artisanal Champagnes here that are the signature gem here and it is worth noting that we receive a mere 12 bottles of the prized Crayeres bottlin and the perfect Grand Cru Millesime from what is arguably a vintage of a lifetime for Champagne . For myself, and many in the trade, the greatness begins with the little Grand Cru (formerly known as Tradition) - a full bodied Champagne that offers a yin and yang experience with energy and texture and will make you rethink Champagne. Dollar for dollar, this overachiever remains an IWM favorite. Carpe diem.

FEATURED WINES:  Artisanal Champagne and Grand Cru Burgundy with the Grower Touch? – And More…

*Note: Some quantity limitations per customer may apply

ADDITIONAL NOTES AND REVIEWS:

Egly Ouriet Ambonnay Rouge Coteaux Champenois ‘Cuvée des Grands Côtes’ Vieilles Vignes

Christopher Deas, Italian Wine Merchants: “Certainly, one of the most prized spots in all of Champagne for Grand Cru Pinot is Ambonnay which is the source for some of the great wines from Egly Ouriet. From a single vineyard directly below the iconic Les Crayères in Ambonnay, the DOMAINE EGLY-OURIET Ambonnay Rouge Coteaux Champenois ‘Cuvée des Grands Côtes’ Vieilles Vignes is produced from 60+ year old vines. Yields are typically below Burgundy's Grand Cru limits, and a mere 200 cases of this red gem is produced for the world. Winemaker Francis Egly selects fruit from older vines mid-slope on a single parcel, which is shaped naturally like an amphitheater, and faces south. Soils combine clay, chalk, and limestone. You can expect to find sweet red cherry, tobacco, spice, licorice, leather, and a touch of wood – drinks like a Chambolle with a little age. It is worth noting, before Champagne became known for its bubbles, it as known for its still wines - it was Ambonnay that was one the few villages of the prized region that was famous for its Pinot Noir.”

William Kelley, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "This bottling is reliably the most "Burgundian" of all the still wines produced in Champagne, and the Coteaux Champenois Ambonnay Rouge Cuvée des Grands Côtés Vieilles Vignes is certainly no exception, delivering aromas of dark berries mingled with spices, rose petals and toasty oak. Medium to full-bodied, deep and gourmand, with a layered core of fruit framed by rich, powdery tannins, it is just at the beginning of a long life." 

NV Egly Ouriet Champagne Extra Brut Grand Cru

70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay • 50% 2018, 30% 2017, 20% 2016 • From 90% Ambonnay, 10% Bouzy and Verzenay • Indigenous yeast • No malo • Fermented and aged in barrel (10% new) • Aged 48 months on the lees • Dosage: 1g/L • Unfined and unfiltered

Christopher Deas, Italian Wine Merchants:  “Want to fall in love with grower Champagne – well, it begins with the patriarch and their signature, non vintage Grand Cru bottling (formerly known as Tradition). It is a full bodied Champagne that offers a yin and yang experience with vibrant energy and high acidity with creamy texture and layers of depth. I love watching this wine unfold with air, as it beings with vibrancy and gain weight and texture with air time. And under that creamy texture there is persistence and a coiled core that hints at what is to come, but I love what it shows today with the nuances of red berries, citrus, lemons, dried apples, chalk, and just the right amount of almond and brioche. This is the bottle that got me into Champagne!” 

William Kelley, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "Based on the 2018 vintage, Egly's newly released NV Brut Grand Cru offers up inviting aromas of honeyed pear and white flowers mingled with hints of mint and praline. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and chiseled, it's an especially fine-boned, precise rendition of this immensely dependable cuvée, formerly known as the domaine's 'Tradition' bottling."

The Wine Independent: "The Brut Grand Cru NV is a 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay blend predominantly from the 2018 vintage (60%). Barrel fermented and kept on lies for nearly one year, it unfurls with attractive notes of lemon cream, vanilla, chalk dust, acacia honey and a minty note of verbena. The medium-bodied, ripe palate is layered with fruit richness and a chalky acid energy that holds through the long, honeyed finish with hints of toast. Disgorged July 2023 and made to an Extra Brut style with one gram per liter dosage."

Egly-Ouriet “Les Vignes de Bisseuil” 1er Cru Extra Brut NV

70% Chardonnay, 15% Pinot Noir, 15% Meunier • 60% 2018, 20% 2017, 20% 2016 • From a 1.5 ha parcel in the village of Bisseuil, directly adjacent to the village of Ay • 40+ year old vines • Indigenous yeast • No malo • Fermented and aged in barrel (10% new) • Aged 48 months on the lees • Dosage: 2g/L • Unfined and unfiltered

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “Based on the 2018 vintage, the latest release of Egly's NV Brut Vignes de Bisseuil was disgorged this year with two grams per liter dosage. Offering up aromas of sweet orchard fruit and crisp white peach mingled with notions of white flowers, praline and freshly baked bread, it's medium to full-bodied, pillowy and charming, with a fleshy core of fruit and a racy, chalky spine. It's a bright, precise rendition of this Chardonnay-dominant cuvée.”

Antonio Galloni, Vinous: "The NV (2018) Extra Brut Les Vignes de Bisseuil is a very pretty, effusive wine. Hints of ripe apricot, pear and dried yellow flowers confer a feeling of openness that is matched by the wine’s soft contours and engaging personality. The Vignes de Bisseuil is not a super-complex or layered Champagne, but it does offer tons of up-front appeal. This is a fine edition. Dosage is 2 grams per liter. Disgorged: November 2023."

NV Egly Ouriet Champagne Vieillissement Prolonge (VP) Grand Cru

70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay • 50% 2015, 30% 2014, 20% 2013 • From 90% Ambonnay, 10% Bouzy and Verzenay • Indigenous yeast • No malo • Fermented and aged in barrel (10% new) • Aged 84 months on the lees • Dosage: 3g/L • Unfined and unfiltered

Antonio Galloni, Vinous: "The (2015) Extra Brut V.P. Grand Cru (Vieillissement Prolongé) is a timeless wine. It is at once fresh and vibrant but also softened by the passage of time, almost a decade in this case. Lemon confit, marzipan, dried flowers, sage, mint and exotic floral notes all open with some coaxing. This is the sort of Champagne I would like to spend an entire evening with. Dosage is 3 grams per liter. Disgorged: October 2023."

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “As usual, the latest disgorgement of Egly's NV Extra-Brut Grand Cru V.P., this year based on the 2015 vintage complemented by reserve wines from 2014 and 2013, is one of the highlights of the range. Wafting from the glass with aromas of pear, green apple, freshly baked bread, crushed mint, honeycomb, white flowers and praline, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and layered, with a racy and concentrated core, a pretty pinpoint mousse and a long, saline finish.

NV Egly Ouriet Champagne Les Crayeres VV Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru

100% Pinot Noir • 50% 2016, 50% 2015 • From the legendary single vineyard “Les Crayères” in Ambonnay • Planted in 1946 • Indigenous yeast • No malo • Fermented and aged in barrel (10% new) • Aged 72 months on the lees • Dosage: 1g/L • Unfined and unfiltered

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “A blend of the 2016 and 2015 vintages, the NV Brut Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru Les Crayères is an especially good rendition of this almost routinely sublime bottling. Unwinding in the glass with notes of pear, wild berries, clear honey, white flowers, praline and freshly baked bread, it's medium to full-bodied, beautifully layered and textural, with a taut, concentrated core, racy acids and a long, mineral finish. This chiseled, intensely flavored Champagne was disgorged this year with only one gram per liter dosage..”

2008 Egly Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésime

70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay • From old vines in Ambonnay • Indigenous yeast • No malo • Fermented and aged in barrel (10% new) • Aged 96 months on the lees • Dosage: 1g/L • Unfined and unfiltered

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate: “Revisited from the July 2019 disgorgement, Egly's 2008 Brut Grand Cru Millésime was showing as brilliantly as ever. The wine seemed to shut down a little in early 2020, but it is already beginning to unwind, and this was the most expressive bottle that I've drunk to date. Offering up an incipiently complex bouquet of orchard fruit, citrus oil, pralines and freshly baked bread, now complemented by hints of iodine, clear honey and mirabelle plum, it's full-bodied, deep and layered, with immense depth and concentration, racy acids and elegantly muscular structuring dry extract. Long and penetrating, as I've written before, this wine is a monument to what Champagne's grower revolution has achieved over the last 30 or so years.”

Decanter Magazine: “A timeless, benchmark expression of Ambonnay. Primary fermentation in barrique, no malolactic fermentation. Aged 10 years on its lees and bottled with 5g/l dosage. A stunning, complex nose of candied walnuts, cherry pits, nougat and red apples. The palate has boundless energy, leading with a punch of apricots, golden raisins, almonds and orange zest. The length of the finish is extraordinary, oscillating between airy weightlessness and muscular power. The combination of Francis Egly's meticulous nature and the sturdy clarity of the 2008 vintage is a thing to behold. A wine to enjoy over the next four decades.”

This is an email ONLY offer! Should you have any questions on these exciting wines, or would like to take advantage of this offering (that is only available until 11:59pm, February 10th), we are asking that orders be emailed back to chris.deas@italianwinemerchants.com, or connect with your Portfolio Manager AND mention receipt of this offer if calling the store. All orders are subject to confirmation. IWM is not responsible for typographical errors.

All my best,

Chris