Egly Ouriet Ambonnay Rouge, Egly-Ouriet 2017

Francis Egly's 2017 Ambonnay Rouge Cuvée des Grands Côtés Vieilles Vignes is a superb young wine, soaring from the glass with a captivating bouquet of rose petals, raw cocoa, orange rind and raspberries, framed by a deft application of classy new oak. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, velvety and enveloping, with exquisitely refined tannins, racy acids and a long, pungently floral finish. This cuvée hails from a parcel of old vines in the heart of Ambonnay, where the soils are a little deeper and the slope is exposed due south. Egly performs a severe green harvest to strictly limit already-low yields and keeps temperatures comparatively low during the long maceration. The resulting wine is matured for some 20 months in barrels from Egly's friend, Dominique Laurent.