CHAMPAGNE EGLY-OURIET 'VP' Grand Cru NV - Magnum
Sparkling
NV
Champagne
Champagne
Pinot Noir
Biodynamic
Tasting Notes & Ratings
Grape
70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay; Ambonnay Rouge for color (about 5% of the blend)
Type of Champagne
Extra-Brut
Dosage
3g/L
Disgorgement
July 2021
Tasting notes
Pale yellow. Aromas of spiced pears, yellow peaches, baking spices, warm oatmeal. Precise, spicy, vinous; flavors of ginger, red apple, citrus fruits, toast.
The V.P. stands for Vieillissement Prolongé (prolonged ageing), as the wine spends so long on lees--in this case 84 months. It's a blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, with fruit from Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay--all great Grand Cru terroirs. Vinification and élevage was in oak casks, with the dosage a tiny 2g/L, seriously Extra Brut.
The power of the fruit plus the extended lees ageing grants such harmony, so much length and so much complexity and texture, that the dosage seems irrelevant. It's a vinous, powerful and super-pure Champagne of great depth and class. Intense and statuesque, yet with so much finesse as well. After resting seven years in bottle in the Egly-Ouriet cellars, this is now singing.
Expert Ratings
Wine Advocate 94/100 - Vinous 95/100