Today on The Friday Bubble with Nick Baker and Essi Avellan MW, we compare Egly-Ouriet Brut Grand Cru NV & Egly-Ouriet Brut Les Premices NV.
Founded in 1930, Egly-Ouriet has become a cult Champagne producer with a loyal fanbase around the world. 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.
Egly-Ouriet Brut Grand Cru NV is based around the 2018 vintage (50%), with 2017 (30%) and 2016 (20%) making up the blend, with 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. 'Les Premices' is from a single 3.5 hectare parcel in the village of Trigny. Based around the 2018 vintage (50%), with 2017 (30%) and 2016 (20%) making up the blend.
2018 was a very unusual year in more ways than one. After an exceptionally rainy winter, spring was very mild. The warmth brought with it stormy and sometimes destructive weather as well as variable rainfall throughout the appellation. Summer was very warm, dry and sunny and surpassed even the record breaking temperatures of 2003. 2018 is therefore a new benchmark for the Champagne region in terms of the heat, drought and sunshine levels.
William Kelley 92+/100 Feb 2024 Egly-Ouriet Brut Grand Cru NV 75cl
“Based on the 2018 vintage, Egly's newly released NV Brut Grand Cru offers up inviting aromas of honeyed pear and white flowers mingled with hints of mint and praline. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and chiseled, it's an especially fine-boned, precise rendition of this immensely dependable cuvée, formerly known as the domaine's "Tradition" bottling.”
Tamlyn Currin 17/20 May 2023 Egly-Ouriet Brut Grand Cru NV 75cl
“Much more toasty than Les Prémices. There is an interesting tango on the palate between papaya fruit and a powerful oily spiciness, a bit like toasted papaya seeds and linseed oil. But the ripeness of the fruit through this wine is massive and all-encompassing and has the roiling substance of a storm. Olive oil and oranges. Quince and membrillo. Gripping and delicious, in an idiosyncratic way.”
Antonio Galloni 92/100 March 2023 Egly-Ouriet Brut Les Premices NV
“The NV (2018) Les Prémices is soft and open-knit, which makes it a fine choice for drinking now and over the next decade. Orchard fruit, mint and yellow flowers open effortlessly in the glass. Vinification and aging in steel keeps the flavors brisk. Les Prémices, one of the recent additions in this range, is equal parts Pinot Noir, Meunier and Chardonnay.”
