TN: 1996 Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé

Greg_Pierce · June 14, 2009, 1:20am

1996 Egly-Ouriet Champagne Grand Cru Brut Millésimé - France, Champagne, Ambonnay, Champagne (6/13/2009)
Deep gold with very fine mousse. Nuts, bread, and apple on the nose. Bright, citrus, apple, and some sherried flavors. Overall, this was very delicious, but slightly more advanced (age-wise) than I expected.

steffenpelz · June 14, 2009, 3:33am

Ahhh. Drinking that Champagne swill again, aren’t we? And without me to boot In all seriousness…sounds like a nice Champagne that’s just a year or two past its prime. What did you eat with it?

Otto_Dobre · June 14, 2009, 3:45am

I’ve had only 2 bottles of EO Champs in my live, both bottles picked up from Winex, bought them after all the great notes on eBob, and the wines showed some degree of sherry notes. Never looked for that wine again. Maybe it is a style of that wine??? It was NV.

But I understand that some folks like that style, just not for me.

Otto

Ray.Tuppa_sch · June 14, 2009, 2:42pm

I used to buy Egly-Ouriet’s wines in the '90’s, but between them raising their prices significantly and what I felt was their inability to age gracefully, I haven’t bought a bottle in at least a decade.

Brad_Baker · June 14, 2009, 2:46pm

As their vintage has shot up for $40-$50 to around $100 in just a few years, I don’t buy much of it either. I think Egly has a few things going on with it. First, I’ve always found more than average variation in their bottles, but couldn’t say if that is an importer/distributor issue or a winery issue as most of my bottles were purchased locally in Michigan. Second, they tend to be hit or miss with some vintages. For example, the 96 is an early drinker, yet the 95 has always been rather young when I have had it.

Shannon_Perdue · June 14, 2009, 2:59pm

Hey Greg (my champagne buddy!) - the last good bottle we had of this was last year. I’ve always thought that this wine was much further along than the other 96s. The last bottle we opened was oxidized so I’m glad we went through the lot. There is one lone bottle for a 96 comparative tasting but I’m pretty sure it will be over the hill by then.

I also agree with the other posters on Egly’s pricing - when their NVs started at $70 I stopped buying them. The vintage wines post 1996 were in the $125 range which as Ray notes is quite silly for wines that don’t seem to age well.

This is not a Champagne producer I look for anymore.

steffenpelz · June 14, 2009, 4:40pm

Hey Shannon. Good to have you here. IIRC, we’ve had some pretty good bottles of the EO NV at your house, right?

Shannon_Perdue · June 14, 2009, 6:27pm

Yes, the Egly-Ouriet VP (Vieillissment Prolongé). Those were quite good but alas on the expensive side for NV. The bottle variation was also high for that wine.

Phillip_F_r_a_n_k_s · June 14, 2009, 6:31pm

My feelings exactly.

Greg_Pierce · June 15, 2009, 3:16am

Steffen,

We had veal saltimbocca with sauteed broccolini. It was very tasty. Also, popped the 02 Mugneret-Gibourg/Georges Mugneret Les Chaignots. That was awesome. I did not take a formal note, however. While Pat is tolerant of many of my foibles, she would not take lightly to me ignoring her while trying to write up a quick note in the middle of dinner.

Greg_Pierce · June 15, 2009, 3:20am

Gotta agree. I’ve enjoyed many of Egly’s wines, but the price has ratcheted up and I don’t think they can play with the big boys. The quick evolution of the 96 seems to bear that out. I tried this wine about a year ago and was worried that it seemed too advanced. I have now confirmed, and plan to drink the last bottle shortly. The group of NV Egly’s that I’ve got, however, seem to be going strong. The price point is bad, though.