Egly-Ouriet
V.P Vieillissement Prolonge Grand Cru
Champagne
NV

The producer

Based in the village of Ambonnay in Montagne de Reims, the Egly-Ouriet house was established in 1930. Current owner Francis Egly, who took charge from the 1982 vintage, was the driving force in putting this ‘grower producer’ champagne house on the trajectory that would result in today’s superstar cult status.

The 12 hectares estate is exclusively Grand Cru – with the exception of 2 hectares of Pinot Meunier in Vrigny – and spread across the villages of Ambonnay, Bouzy and, Verzenay. 9 hectares of Pinot Noir and around 1 hectare of Chardonnay are planted on south and southeast facing slopes, which gives fruit of exceptional ripeness. Yields are kept very low and grapes are picked late in order to achieve a richer and riper style which as a result then needs less dosage added before bottling. All wines go through extended ageing on lees up to 7 years and large parts of most wines are aged in oak barrels before the second bubble forming fermentation in bottle.

The wine

Fruit for Egly-Ouriet’s V.P. (Vieillissement Prolongé) Grand Cru is sourced exclusively from Grand Cru vineyards in Ambonnay, planted predominantly to old-vine Pinot Noir with a small proportion of Chardonnay. The vines are rooted in deep chalk and limestone soils, with excellent natural drainage, and farmed at low yields to maximise concentration. Fermentation takes place in oak barrels, followed by an extended ageing period on the lees, typically well beyond the appellation norms before late disgorgement, allowing the wine to develop depth and complexity without dosage-driven gloss.

The prolonged ageing shapes a Champagne of notable intensity and refinement, combining chalky mineral precision with layers of ripe orchard fruit, toasted brioche, and subtle spice. The mousse is fine and persistent, the structure broad yet disciplined, and the overall impression is one of balance, depth, and quiet power, with a long, resonant finish that reflects both the Grand Cru origins and Egly-Ouriet’s uncompromising approach.

We choose our wines based on a range of criteria (see how we choose our wines) of which critic scores is just one. Rather than simply highlight the best score to promote a wine, our average critic score is calculated from the scores provided by several respected wine critics, who we follow for specific regions. They do not represent all critic scores and, wherever possible, we try and give more weight to more recent reviews. Where appropriate we consider market-based scores like Global Wine Score or Wine Searcher Average scores.

As a rule, we look to offer wines that achieve a 92/100 average critic score or better and frankly a lot of very good wines simply don’t make the cut. As a high-end provider we want to reflect that positioning in the quality of wines we offer. Such wines are only a tiny fraction of those generally on offer in the market. We believe that an average score is a more conservative and representative approach, but it is still subjective and only offered as a guide to our customers, who will (and should) do their own research. We will add individual critic scores to our website in the future.