Egly-Ouriet Champagne Les Premices NV

Egly-Ouriet is the Ambonnay house that helped launch the grower-Champagne movement, and Les Prémices is the doorway into its cellar. The name means “a beginning” in French, from the Latin for the first fruits of a harvest, and it is the newest cuvée in the range. It comes from a parcel of about 3.5 hectares at Trigny, on the Massif de Saint-Thierry northwest of Reims, taken over by Francis Egly’s family in 2016 from his daughter-in-law’s side. The vines are over 40 years old, facing southeast, on sandier soils than Ambonnay’s chalk, farmed organically. The blend is equal thirds Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier, fermented with indigenous yeasts, with a share of reserve wines from previous years, and aged about 36 months on the lees before disgorgement with a dosage of only 1 gram per litre.

The result is the most open-knit and accessible Egly-Ouriet, with energy and a real sense of place. Ripe peach, orchard fruit and fresh nuts come with brown bread, honey and spice, and in some releases apricot, ginger and tangerine peel. The palate is medium-bodied and satiny, with a fine mousse, zesty crispness and a saline finish.