France · Champagne

Egly-Ouriet

Egly-Ouriet is a small Ambonnay-based grower Champagne house whose wines have attracted extraordinary auction demand since their international discovery in the late 2000s. Francis Egly farms approximately 9 hectares of Premier and Grand Cru vineyards centred on Ambonnay—rated 100% in the Champagne échelle—with additional parcels in Bouzy, Verzy, and Verzenay. The wines are vinified in older oak barrels with extended lees ageing: the NV Brut Tradition spends over four years on lees before disgorgement, a lengthy élévage that contributes to its wine-like complexity. The Brut Tradition commands a higher average ($808) than the dated Millesime ($322), reflecting the rarity of specific single-disgorgement batches in the auction record. The 2008 Brut Tradition and 2002 Brut Millesime are the most critically acclaimed releases; the 2002 Millesime has reached $2,629 at auction. Total auction activity across 205 lots at a $472 average places Egly-Ouriet among the most expensive grower producers on the secondary market, ahead of many established houses. Allocation-level scarcity—total production is approximately 60,000 bottles across all cuvées—is the fundamental pricing driver. The Coteaux Champenois rouge from Ambonnay, though rarely appearing at auction, has also attracted collector interest for its Pinot Noir depth and low-production volumes. All wines are biodynamically farmed, a practice Egly adopted formally in the 2000s, contributing additional quality rationale for collectors who track grower Champagne provenance.