2008 Egly-Ouriet Grand Cru Millesime Champagne (Disgorged April 2020)

The Ambonnay based Egly-Ouriet are a reference point for grower producers in Champagne, known for their impeccable vineyard management and fastidious winemaking skills. Much of their production is raised in oak barrels, with extended aging on lees a feature. This wine is the second bottling of Egly’s (already legendary) Millésime 2008, first bottled with a July 2019 disgorgement, this edition was almost a year later in April 2020, after 129 months on lees. As usual with Francis Egly's millesime, the blend is 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay from the same 40-year-old vines in Ambonnay, aged in barrel until bottling and with no malo.

Other Reviews....
Revisited from the July 2019 disgorgement, Egly's 2008 Brut Grand Cru Millésime was showing as brilliantly as ever. The wine seemed to shut down a little in early 2020, but it is already beginning to unwind, and this was the most expressive bottle that I've drunk to date. Offering up an incipiently complex bouquet of orchard fruit, citrus oil, pralines and freshly baked bread, now complemented by hints of iodine, clear honey and mirabelle plum, it's full-bodied, deep and layered, with immense depth and concentration, racy acids and elegantly muscular structuring dry extract. Long and penetrating, as I've written before, this wine is a monument to what Champagne's grower revolution has achieved over the last 30 or so years. Drink 2023 - 2048.
100 points
William Kelley - Wine Advocate (May 2021)

Just being released now, the 2008 Brut Millésime Grand Cru is quite possibly the most elegant, most refined Champagne I have ever tasted at Egly-Ouriet. Francis Egly captures the freshness and verve of 2008 as expressed in his vineyards in Ambonnay. That interplay yields a Champagne that is deep, resonant and pulsing with tremendous energy. The Pinot really comes through on a finish that just expands with superb resonance. In a word: brilliant! Disgorged: July, 2019. Drink 2019-2029.
96 points
Antonio Galloni - Vinous

A timeless, benchmark expression of Ambonnay. Primary fermentation in barrique, no malolactic fermentation. Aged 10 years on its lees and bottled with 5g/l dosage. A stunning, complex nose of candied walnuts, cherry pits, nougat and red apples. The palate has boundless energy, leading with a punch of apricots, golden raisins, almonds and orange zest. The length of the finish is extraordinary, oscillating between airy weightlessness and muscular power. The combination of Francis Egly's meticulous nature and the sturdy clarity of the 2008 vintage is a thing to behold. A wine to enjoy over the next four decades. Drink 2020 - 2060.
99 points
Matthew Luczy - Decanter