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, which are all planted in Grand Cru villages (with the exception of his Premier Cru Vrigny vineyards), is remarkable: he uses organic fertilizers, prefers to plow rather than use herbicides, and restricts his yields for incredibly concentrated fruit. Francis even has a plowing regimen that aerates the incredibly deep, pure-chalk soils in which his vines are planted. Today’s wine, 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay from Grand Crus Ambonnay, Bouzy, and Verzenay undergoes a strict selection and is entirely hand-harvested. In Egly’s multi-level concrete cellar, the pressed juice is fed into old French barrels via gravity. Following a natural fermentation and a brief aging regimen, it is blended, bottled, and allowed to rest on its raw lees—50 months for this bottling. It was dosed with a judicious five grams of sugar upon disgorgement in late 2019.

The Egly-Ouriet Brut Grand Cru is incredibly delicious, vinous, and consistent, easily competing for the top of its class year after year. The newest disgorgement has its signature opulence but there is an intense focus and laser-sharp precision that is incredibly welcome. This is more than a lavish bottle of wine—it expertly walks a tightrope of generous ripeness and nervy minerality. The rich and intense aromatics are led by redcurrant, blood orange, red plum skin, white pear, ripe yellow apples, salt-preserved lemon, brioche, acacia honey, cream, lees, yellow flowers, pulverized stones, and chalk. The palate, while nearly full-bodied and concentrated, gives way to a roaring cascade of mineral freshness and palate-cleansing acidity that stretches deep into the recesses of your taste buds. It’s intense, profound, distinctly layered, and has no problem dominating in a lineup of swanky vintage Champagnes costing $100+. As always, this will continue developing more complex aromas for years to come, so allow a bottle or two to collect dust in a dark corner of your cellar for the next 5+ years. When consuming, do so just under cellar temperature, around 50-55 degrees, in a large-mouthed tulip or Burgundy stem. If you haven’t treated yourself this year, now’s the time with duck breast and seared foie gras smothered in balsamic cherries. Or, if this simply sounds too good to pass up, treat yourself again—who’s keeping count anyway? Cheers!