Egly-Ouriet is one of the most revered Grower Champagne houses in France; their bottles grace the wine list of practically every top tier restaurant in the world and come highly recommended by any knowledgeable Sommelier without hesitation.
Today’s Non-Vintage Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition offers one of the most serious and exquisite bottles of Champagne at its pricepoint. This particular example represents over half of the house’s production and delivers an affordable opportunity to experience why this particular artisanal grower-producer is one of the most celebrated in all of Champagne.
For those of you unfamiliar with Grower Champagnes, I would like to expound on that. “Grower Champagne,” labeled as RM on the bottle, is Champagne’s equivalent of a bona fide farm-to-table experience. There are two important types of Champagne houses: the Négociant-Manipulant, labeled as NM, and Récoltant-Manipulant, labeled as RM. Négociant-Manipulant is a term that means the producer purchased the majority of the grapes from a grower, usually a small family, and made the wine; large, famous Champagne houses like Krug and Veuve Clicquot fall into this category. Récoltant-Manipulant, (RM) on the bottle, indicates that the grower owns at least 95% of the grapes and makes the wine under their own label; the 5% window allows for an ability to purchase a small amount of another AOC-allowed varietal if needed for blending. While both types of producers make celebrated bottlings, my heart really belongs to the small growers. One of these small growers that I hold in particularly high esteem thanks to his intense devotion is Francis Egly, a fourth-generation winemaker whose attention to detail in the vineyards and strict regime in the cellar has produced some of the world’s most astounding expressions of Champagne. These sparkling beauties have garnered a ridiculous amount of accolades and attention from critics in every corner of the world—so much so, that the wines have a devoted cult following. If you love Champagne, you must try this extraordinary example, and then you will understand why.
Francis Egly works his vines and crafts his Champagne as if it were an art, and in fact, it is. The way he tends his vineyards, which are all planted in Grand Cru villages with the exception of his Premier Cru Vrigny vineyards, is remarkable. He uses organic fertilizers, attempts to plough rather than use herbicides and controls his yields for incredibly concentrated fruit. This wine’s grapes are derived from vineyards in the Grand Cru villages of Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay, all of which are situated within the subregion of the Montagne de Reims where Pinot Noir is the star but Chardonnay delivers exceptional characteristic as well. The blend is comprised of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. This harmonious combination of Grand Cru villages is a spectacular blend of unique terroirs with real distinction. Unlike other Grower Champagne producers, Francis harvests the grapes at a slightly riper point than the majority; while others fear that they will lose the acidity, he has proven that the slightly riper harvest of low-yielding, old vines can create luscious bubbles with intensely concentrated flavors that linger for days without the loss of balance. A true artisan in the world of Champagne, his admirable dedication is revealed with every sip. The Brut Tradition enjoys an impressive 48 months on lees before disgorgement then a light five-grams-per-liter dosage that allows a beautifully transparent expression. The extended sur lie aging, coupled with more phenolic ripeness to the fruit, delivers mesmerizingly opulent, creamy texture that we all crave in full-bodied Champagne of quality.
The Egly-Ouriet Brut Tradition has a golden yellow core moving to slight green hues on the rim. The rich and intense aromatics are led by creamed yellow apples, lemon curd, brioche, red berries, honey and crushed stones. The palate is almost full-bodied with amazing concentration of yellow cherry, yellow apple, preserved lemon, fresh cream, white mushroom, rising bread dough and chalk. The wine has recently been disgorged and will develop more complex aromas for many years to come; don’t be afraid to forget about this beauty in a dark corner of your cellar for the next 5-6 years. Ideally, consume this wine just under cellar temperature around 50-55F degrees in a large-mouthed Champagne stem, filled only halfway to the top, so the aromas can come together properly. If you only have traditional tall, thin Champagne flutes, please use an all-purpose white stem instead to avoid hindering the spectacular aromatics. For a really compelling main course worthy of this full-bodied Champagne, try this pressed
Georgian Chicken with Walnut Sauce from Cindy Pawlcyn’s new cookbook, Cindy’s Supper Club.
