Egly-Ouriet is also one of France’s great still Pinot Noir producers, and the Egly Ambonnay Rouge Cuvée des Grands Côtés—a 100% Pinot Noir dry red— sells out as quickly as its sparkling wines. In ‘The World’s Greatest Wines’, Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve write: “The most recent vintages of the [Egly] red Coteau Champenois have revolutionised the style, proving themselves worthy of comparison with many of the greatest Burgundies.”
One of the reasons this wine is not well-known here is that it’s made in tiny quantities (only around 200 cases each year), and we only get a few bottles. It comes from a single parcel of 50-year-old Pinot Noir (Pinot Fin) vines situated mid-slope in the Grand Cru of Ambonnay. This vineyard is in a slight depression that forms a kind of amphitheatre (or sun trap), and this—combined with the old vines, clay-rich soils and low yields—leads to perfectly ripe Pinot (rare enough in Champagne) and a Coteaux like no other.
The yields are further controlled by short pruning and a green harvest. Then, at harvest, the grapes are sorted berry by berry. Final yields are typically at or below Burgundy’s Grand Cru limits (something like 35 hl/ha on average). The wine is vinified in barrique and bottled by hand without filtration. Another feature of the wine is its 20 to 24 months of maturation in Dominique Laurent ‘Magic Cask’ Tronçais barrels. The end result of all this is simply a remarkable wine—comparable with, if obviously different from, the best of Burgundy. Impressive young, just like great Burgundy, it needs at least 10-20 years to express its full potential.