Egly-Ouriet is a grower-champagne estate in Ambonnay, a grand cru village on the Montagne de Reims. The family's roots go back to the 1930s: they farmed vines in Ambonnay and sold the grapes to the big négociant houses. The turning point came in 1982, when Francis Egly, the fourth generation, took over the estate. From then on he bottled all the wines under the Egly-Ouriet name instead of selling to négociants. Today he runs the house together with his son Charles.
The style is shaped by Pinot Noir. The domaine owns about 10 hectares in the grand cru sites of Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay. The house relies on long ageing on the lees, three to seven years for most wines and up to nine years for the Cuvée VP. The foundation of the range is the Grand Cru Brut Tradition, 70 per cent Pinot Noir and 30 per cent Chardonnay from Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay. Among the top wines is the Blanc de Noirs Les Crayères, from an old Pinot Noir parcel in Ambonnay planted in 1946/1947. The Cuvée V.P. stands for Vieillissement Prolongé: it spends 84 months on the lees, consists of 70 per cent Pinot Noir and 30 per cent Chardonnay, and is dosed at 3 g/l. There is also a rosé, the vintage champagne Grand Cru Millésime and a still Ambonnay Rouge as a Coteaux Champenois.
A particular curiosity is Les Vignes de Vrigny: a premier cru blanc de noirs made from 100 per cent Pinot Meunier. Vrigny is one of the few villages in Champagne that plant almost exclusively Meunier. It is also striking that many of the wines come from a single vintage yet are labelled as NV. The bottles are strictly allocated and hard to find.
