2008 Champagne Egly-Ouriet, Grand Cru, Brut
Critics reviews
The magnum of 2008 Brut Millésime Grand Cru from Egly-Ouriet was spectacular. It is just a “killer” bouquet with scents of dried honey, lemon sherbet, white truffles and linseed oil, exquisitely defined and intense. The palate has fabulous weight and is balanced, quite “deep” to the extent that blind, I would almost say it was a Blanc de Noir.
There is a nonchalance about this champagne that holds the drinker spellbound, delivering stunning precision on its multi-dimensional finish. Frankly, even for someone who has admitted being ambivalent to champagne, it’s one of the most sublime that I have encountered for a very long time. I get the fuss.
Drink 2024 - 2038
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (February 2024)
Disgorged: July, 2019
Just being released now, the 2008 Brut Millésime Grand Cru is quite possibly the most elegant, most refined Champagne I have ever tasted at Egly-Ouriet. Francis Egly captures the freshness and verve of 2008 as expressed in his vineyards in Ambonnay. That interplay yields a Champagne that is deep, resonant and pulsing with tremendous energy. The Pinot really comes through on a finish that just expands with superb resonance. In a word: brilliant!
Drink 2019 - 2029
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (December 2019)
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 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.
Drink 2023 - 2048
William Kelley, Wine Advocate (April 2021)
A timeless, benchmark expression of Ambonnay. Primary fermentation in barrique, no malolactic fermentation. Aged ten 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.
Drink 2020 - 2060
Matthew Luczy, Decanter.com (May 2020)
About this WINE
Champagne Egly-Ouriet
The history of Champagne Egly-Ouriet dates back to the late 18th century when the Egly family began cultivating vineyards in the Montagne de Reims region, known for its prime Champagne terroir. However, in the 20th century, the estate gained recognition under the leadership of Francis Egly, who took over the family business in the 1980s.
Champagne Egly-Ouriet is known for its dedication to traditional and meticulous winemaking methods. They focus on producing single-vineyard, vintage Champagnes, emphasising terroir expression and each vineyard parcel’s unique characteristics. The estate owns and manages vineyards in some of the most prestigious areas of Champagne, including Ambonnay, Bouzy, Verzenay, and others. These Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards are known for their high-quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes, the primary varieties used in Champagne production.
Champagne Egly-Ouriet has embraced biodynamic farming practices, prioritising organic and sustainable agriculture. These practices aim to enhance the overall health of the vineyards, improve grape quality, and reflect the unique terroir in the final wines. The winery follows a minimalist approach in the cellar, using natural yeasts for fermentation and avoiding excessive manipulation of the wines. This approach allows the grapes’ natural characteristics to shine through in the final Champagne.
Brut Champagne
Brut denotes a dry style of Champagne (less than 15 grams per litre). Most Champagne is non-vintage, produced from a blend from different years. The non-vintage blend is always based predominately on wines made from the current harvest, enriched with aged wines (their proportion and age varies by brand) from earlier harvests, which impart an additional level of complexity to the end wine. Champagnes from a single vintage are labelled with the year reference and with the description Millésimé.
Non-vintage Champagnes can improve with short-term ageing (typically two to three years), while vintages can develop over much longer periods (five to 30 years). The most exquisite and often top-priced expression of a house’s style is referred to as Prestige Cuvée. Famous examples include Louis Roederer's Cristal, Moët & Chandon's Dom Pérignon, and Pol Roger's Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill.
Recommended Producers : Krug, Billecart Salmon, Pol Roger, Bollinger, Salon, Gosset, Pierre Péters, Ruinart
Champagne blend
Which grapes are included in the blend, and their proportion, is one of the key factors determining the style of most Champagnes. Three grapes are used - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
26% of vineyards in Champagne are planted with Chardonnay and it performs best on the Côtes des Blancs and on the chalk slopes south of Epernay. It is relatively simple to grow, although it buds early and thus is susceptible to spring frosts. It produces lighter, fresher wines than those from Burgundy and gives finesse, fruit and elegance to the final blend. It is the sole grape in Blancs de Blancs, which are some of the richest long-lived Champagnes produced.
Pinot Noir accounts for nearly 40% of the plantings in Champagne and lies at the heart of most blends - it gives Champagne its body, structure, strength and grip. It is planted across Champagne and particularly so in the southern Aube district.
The final component is Pinot Meunier and this constitutes nearly 35% of the plantings. Its durability and resistance to spring frosts make the Marne Valley, a notorious frost pocket, its natural home. It ripens well in poor years and produces a soft, fruity style of wine that is ideal for blending with the more assertive flavours of Pinot Noir. Producers allege that Pinot Meunier lacks ageing potential, but this does not deter Krug from including around 15% of it in their final blends.
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Description
The magnum of 2008 Brut Millésime Grand Cru from Egly-Ouriet was spectacular. It is just a “killer” bouquet with scents of dried honey, lemon sherbet, white truffles and linseed oil, exquisitely defined and intense. The palate has fabulous weight and is balanced, quite “deep” to the extent that blind, I would almost say it was a Blanc de Noir.
There is a nonchalance about this champagne that holds the drinker spellbound, delivering stunning precision on its multi-dimensional finish. Frankly, even for someone who has admitted being ambivalent to champagne, it’s one of the most sublime that I have encountered for a very long time. I get the fuss.
Drink 2024 - 2038
Neal Martin, Vinous.com (February 2024)
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