Hundreds of Champagne producers bottle 100% Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, but only a few names spring to mind when it comes to crafting pure, top-shelf Pinot Meunier: culty Prevost, Chartogne-Taillet, Bérêche, Mignon, Laherte Frères, and, of course, Egly-Ouriet. In the 21st decade, Egly-Ouriet has gone from budding star to global legend with instant sellouts, ever-climbing prices, and some of the highest marks grower champagne has ever seen. In other words, an Egly investment is bullish for life! Fortunately for all of you, the price for “Les Vignes de Vrigny” remains in the realm of sanity—comfortably seated in the double digits—and is one of the most unique gems of the lineup.
This is his newest limited release, coming from just two hectares of old-vine Meunier in Premier Cru Vrigny, and its demand has soared so far into the untouchable ether that allocations were strictly divvied up before leaving France. That’s no exaggeration: Although this parcel arrived three weeks ago today, we had to secure over three months ago. So yes, we bought it “blind,” but this is legendary Champenois artisan Francis Egly we’re talking about—wines of depth, laser-sharp focus, and tactical opulence are practically guaranteed. Quantities, however, are not: Other than today’s small allocation and one other cuvée in our possession (stay vigilant!), we’ve been told not to expect anymore Egly-Ouriet until December, if we’re lucky.
When Francis Egly, a fourth-generation vigneron, took the reins from his father, Michel, back in 1980, organic farming was hardly fashionable in Champagne. Nevertheless, Francis and a few others—labeled crazy by their fellow Champenois—continued on with their vineyard-first approaches, and we couldn’t thank him enough for it! You really taste the Pinot Noir in Egly’s wines because he picks at extreme levels of ripeness, typically done after everyone else in Ambonnay has already finished their harvest. For Francis, picking ripe, or “late,” is the most important part of the process. He doesn’t consider himself a pioneer or a trendsetter; he just makes the finest quality wine he can, and that starts with perfectly mature, concentrated grapes.
The way Francis Egly tends his vineyards is remarkable: he uses organic fertilizers, prefers to plow rather than use herbicides, allows a remarkably lengthy hangtime for ultra-ripe fruit, and meticulously sorts his hand-harvested yields. Today’s special “Les Vignes de Vrigny” is sourced entirely from Egly’s two hectares of Meunier in the Premier Cru village of Vrigny, situated in the northern reaches of the large Montagne de Reims. Up here, there are pockets of sand, limestone, and clay over chalk that are perfectly suited to Egly’s signature style: rich, ample-bodied Champagne. Based on the disgorgement date of July 2020 and 36 months of aging on lees, we can assume the base vintage here was 2016 with ‘14 and ‘15 serving as its blending partners. In Egly’s multi-level concrete cellar, the pressed juice was fed into stainless tanks where it underwent a natural, ambient-yeast fermentation. It was dosed with just a couple grams of sugar.
Although we were unable to taste this, and you’ll thank us for not opening a bottle since we have so few to share, the common thread with Egly is that his wines are highly expressive and vinous with immense breadth. Every “Vignes de Vrigny” I’ve ever tasted has proven Meunier stands shoulder to shoulder with Pinot Noir as a single varietal Champagne. Just check out some of the snippets from current reviews circulating around: “bready, leesy, chalky,” “very complex and delicious,” “a great balance of power and finesse,” and Galloni’s Vinous says “what impresses me about this release of Egly's pure Meunier is its translucence and finesse.” You don’t need to do much investigating to realize this Champagne has it all, and the more I write about it, the more I want to drive over to the warehouse and pull the cork on one. For that reason, I’ll go ahead and stop here. All you need to do is stock up, enjoy an all-purpose stem around 55 degrees, and spread out your small trove over the next 5-8 years. Cheers.
