Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru Millesime 2014
Bottling: 2015
Disgorgement: July 2023
Time on lees: 96 months
This is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay from 40-year-old vines in Ambonnay. The wine was aged completely in barrel and there was only one gram per litre dosage. It is a seductive, layered, powerful expression of Ambonnay and, as with the Blanc de Noirs, represents one of the very finest wines of Champagne. Far from falling in the shadow of his spectacular 2012 and 2013 releases, the 2014 is very much their equal. Francis Egly told us that he believes it’s one of the finest Millésime wines he has produced. The summer was cool, and then from mid-August through early September, he had ideal ripening conditions and the family harvested exceptional fruit.
The result is a strikingly beautiful wine with floral notes, great energy and tremendous finesse. In a word, breathtaking. Yes, it is now getting up there in price, but we also need to consider not only the otherworldly quality but also the length of time these wines are being held in the cellar. They are essays in perfection and when compared to the prices of wines like Clos d’Ambonnay or many a Grand Cru Burgundy released two years after harvest, the price starts to look quite different.
One of the very finest wines produced in this less heralded vintage is Egly's 2014 Brut Grand Cru Millésime, a strikingly vinous and enveloping Champagne that wafts from the glass with aromas of pear, mirabelle plum, freshly baked bread, almond paste and honeycomb. Full-bodied, satiny and layered, its textural attack segues into a deep, concentrated mid-palate of exceptional purity and cut, concluding with a long, penetrating and mouthwateringly saline finish. As ever, it's a blend of some 70% Pinot Noir with 30% Chardonnay from Ambonnay's greate
This was (blind) tasted at the Jete Global Sparkling Tasting recently. It’s 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay, is bottled unfined and unfiltered, and spends 96 months on lees. These notes are pretty rushed because it’s a speed masterclass tasting rather than a come back and polish your notes tasting, if you know what I mean. In any case this was my highest pointed wine of the day, prior to (and post) knowing its identity or origin. Strong stonefruits. Strong yeast or indeed Vegemite characters. Hints of honey and brine. Seaweed. Power, texture and length. Compelling. Strawberry jam in the aftertaste. Lemongrass or certainly a herbal element. Monumental. The personality is strong. The texture is strong. It’s thick and wiry at once, dry and juicy at once, overt and intricate at once. 97 points. Campbell Mattinson, Wine Front.
