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Egly-Ouriet Blanc de Noirs Grand Cru 'Les Crayères' Ambonnay
Sparkling (Champagne)FranceNV
By Daniel Min · Tasted 2021-01-02 · Published 2026-09-30 · Updated 2026-09-30
At a glance
In one line
5.0/5 — higher than Vivino's 4.5 average · world avg price US$501 · A chalk vineyard in Ambonnay where Pinot Noir planted the year after the war still bears fruit.
Wine-Searcher aggregate of 38 critic reviews: 94. Vivino lists scores from several years (90+ to 97) without naming the publications.
Market note: Average US$501 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher, ex-tax, checked Sep 2026). The only listed seller is in Korea, so no overseas retail price could be confirmed. From the same house, Grand Cru Brut Millésime is US$570 (95), Tradition Grand Cru Brut US$123 (92) and V.P. Extra Brut US$178 (93).
Father's note — Daniel Min
Original author of the notes“앙보네 블랑누아의 이 가격. 가성비 갑입니다. 블랑누아답게 풍부한 풍미와 맛. 거기에 좋은 등급 샴임을 증명하는 입과 혀에서도 넘치는 기포와 꼬숩은 맛. 에글리 우리에 또 찾으러 갑니다.”
Show original
“brioche apple toast cream citrus yeast peach pear cherry cranberry 앙보네 블랑누아의 이가격.. 가성비 갑입니다^^ 블랑누아답게 풍부한 풍미와 맛. 거기에 좋은등급 샴임을 증명하는 입과 혀에서도 넘치는 기포와 꼬숩은 맛. 에글리 우리에 또 찾으러 갑니다~”
In the scent column: 'bread, and red berries inside the gold.' What I learned today: colour only tells you half.
Tuesday. Master Seo poured gold into a flute and, before I could smell it, asked me a question. What colour grape did I think this Champagne was made from? I held the glass up to the lamp and said: it's gold, so green grapes. He didn't answer; he only signalled with his eyes for me to smell.
Fresh-baked bread, baked apple, cream. So far, just what gold should smell like. But underneath, something small and red rose up. Cherry — no, something tarter. Cranberry. When I said there was a red-berry smell in a gold glass, Master Seo said: right. But that's half. His words and the cranberry overlapped, and dusk on the second day of the new year opened.
Twenty-two, the second day of the new year, a Saturday, before dinner. The kitchen window had just gone dark. At the table Dad opened a small bottle, took a sip on his own, pressed his lips together and pushed the bottle aside. Then he went out to the veranda and stayed a long while, and came back hugging a heavy cloth-wrapped bottle. The cork sounded once, low. Gold rose in two flutes. Behind the smell of bread came a smell of red berries. I said it was gold but there was something red in it. Instead of answering, Dad raised his glass to me once, and kept smiling for a long time, until the foam settled. I don't know the name of the bottle.
Of the eight lines for that date, only this bottle's has five stars. 'Rich flavour and taste, as a blanc de noirs should be.' Bubbles overflowing on the tongue and in the mouth. And that he would go looking for it again. The line right beside it is a small two-star bottle. At the end of that line: 'hoping for a blanc de noirs'. The bottle was Egly-Ouriet Blanc de Noirs Les Crayères. I stuck on the wine-name Post-it. Probably Dad stayed out on the veranda so long because he was choosing the bottle to wash away that disappointing sip.
Master Seo answered Minjae's question with a question. Minjae thought for a long while and went quiet.
After closing, I wrote the bottle's name on page forty-two of the new notebook. In the scent column: 'bread, and red berries inside the gold.' What I learned today: colour only tells you half.
What this wine is
In 1945, as the Second World War ended, Francis Egly's grandfather started with 3 hectares of vines in Ambonnay Grand Cru. The following year, 1946, Pinot Noir was planted in a plot called Les Crayères. Nearly eighty years later those vines still bear the grapes for this bottle (Comptoir des Millésimes, Premium Grands Crus).
'Crayères' comes from craie, chalk. By these accounts the plot's topsoil is less than 30 cm deep, with chalk running dozens of metres below. The roots go down into stone, not earth.
Through purchases and marriages the family grew its holdings to about 12 hectares — grand cru in Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay, and premier cru in Vrigny — two-thirds of it Pinot Noir. Francis, who followed his father Michel, has fermented in oak barrels since 1995 and since 1999 has skipped malolactic fermentation to keep the wines fresh. This blanc de noirs is raised in barrels one to five years old, with very little dosage (2 g/L by one account), and the disgorgement date goes on the back label.
Blanc de noirs means 'white from black grapes'. Even black-skinned Pinot Noir has clear juice; pressed without long skin contact, it becomes golden Champagne.
What the world says
The 38 critic reviews on Wine-Searcher aggregate to 94. Vivino lists scores from 2005 to 2019 ranging from 90+ to 97, without naming the publications. James Suckling wrote of candied fruit, quince, chalky minerality and strawberries.
On Vivino it averages 4.5 from 5,263 ratings: 1,267 fives, 3,672 fours and 276 threes — thickly bunched in the high fours. As a non-vintage wine it has no suggested drinking window.
"Textbook Egly. Utterly rich, concentrated, complex and incredibly vinous. The color had shades of copper." — Vivino review, Jan 2019, 4.5 stars
Structure shows acidity 4.3, intensity 4.2 and fizziness 4.1. Yeasty, toasty notes — brioche (77 mentions), toast, almond — lead almost evenly with honey and minerals, and apple, pear and peach. Some reviews are reminded of Krug; others speak of red berries and an iodine-like minerality.
The average is US$501 / 750ml (Wine-Searcher, ex-tax, checked Sep 2026). No overseas sellers are listed.
How I drank it
January 2, 2021, 5 stars. Of the eight bottles I logged that day, this was the only five. The same day I gave Gancia Pinot di Pinot two stars, noting I'd never enjoyed a small-bottle sparkling wine, and wrote 'hoping for a blanc de noirs'. This bottle met that hope.
My note began with the price: an Ambonnay blanc de noirs at this price — the best value. Rich in flavour and taste, as a blanc de noirs should be. On top of that, bubbles overflowing on the tongue and in the mouth, and a nutty savour, proof of a fine-grade Champagne. I ended by saying I'd go looking for Egly-Ouriet again.
The community averages 4.5; I gave 5. Not far from the critics' 94 either. But the word 'value' reads strangely now. What I paid that day isn't in the note, and today Wine-Searcher's average is US$501. Whether more people have come looking for this bottle since, or the bottle has simply grown scarce, the number alone can't tell. What's certain is one line: I'll go looking for it again.
Vivino community data
NV vintage rating distribution (5263 ratings, average 4.5)
| 5★ | 1267 (24%) | |
| 4★ | 3672 (70%) | |
| 3★ | 276 (5%) | |
| 2★ | 24 (0%) | |
| 1★ | 24 (0%) |
Most-mentioned aromas
| Family | Mentions | Top keywords |
|---|---|---|
| Yeast & toast | 221 | brioche 77 · toast 57 · almond 40 · nutty 14 · marzipan 11 |
| Earth & leather | 212 | honey 68 · minerals 59 · smoke 18 · chalk 16 · ginger 8 |
| Tree fruit | 211 | apple 86 · pear 30 · peach 27 · apricot 17 · baked apple 11 |
| Citrus | 109 | citrus 36 · lemon 29 · grapefruit 12 · lime 7 · orange 7 |
| Oak | 101 | caramel 18 · vanilla 18 · oak 17 · butter 16 · pastry 8 |
Structure: Acidity 4.3/5 · Intensity 4.2/5 · Fizziness 4.1/5
Average by vintage (all vintages: 5263 ratings, average 4.5)
| Vintage | Average | Ratings |
|---|
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→Frequently asked questions
What kind of Champagne is Egly-Ouriet Les Crayères?
A blanc de noirs made from 100% Pinot Noir planted in 1946 in the Les Crayères plot in Ambonnay Grand Cru. It is non-vintage, averaging 4.5 on Vivino (5,263 ratings) with a Wine-Searcher critic aggregate of 94.
How much does it cost?
Wine-Searcher's average is US$501 per 750ml (ex-tax, checked Sep 2026). No overseas retail sellers could be confirmed.
What food goes with it?
The Vivino community suggests pork, shellfish, rich fish such as salmon or tuna, and mild soft cheese. It has the body to carry through a whole meal.
What does blanc de noirs mean?
'White from black grapes'. Even black-skinned grapes like Pinot Noir have clear flesh and juice, so pressed without long skin contact they make golden Champagne. Made from Chardonnay alone, it would be blanc de blancs.
Links & sources
View on Vivino · Prices on Wine-Searcher
- Vivino — wine page and community data
- Comptoir des Millésimes — Egly-Ouriet wine guide
- Premium Grands Crus — Egly-Ouriet Blanc de Noirs Vieilles Vignes
- Wine-Searcher — Egly-Ouriet 'Les Crayères' Blanc de Noirs
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