Champagne Ayala
Le Blanc de Blancs 2014
Champagne, France
Ayala’s Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay, produced in small quantities in exceptional years only and fully expresses the superb caliber of great Chardonnay from the best crus of the Côte des Blancs. It is truly a unique vintage offering.
Ayala Blanc de Blancs 2014 is 100% Chardonnay from 3 Grand and 2 Premier Cru villages on the Côte des Blancs:Cramant, Chouilly, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cuis and Grauves. After 6 years of aging in Ayala’s cellars, remarkable minerality and low dosage (6g/l) make this an outstanding wine that can accompany a variety of flavorful dishes, or stand on its own.
Vineyard
Ayala Blanc de Blancs 2014 is 100% Chardonnay from 3 Grand and 2 Premier Cru villages on the Côte des Blancs: Cramant, Chouilly, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cuis and Grauves. Ayala currently owns 35 acres in Champagne. Thanks to its privileged location in the heart of the Grand Crus of Montagne de Reims and their link to Bollinger, they also have unique access to top quality grapes.
Winemaking
Everything from grape reception to vinification, aging, riddling and disgorgement is done at the Ayala cellars. The Blanc des Blancs rests on the lees in the cellar for 6 years after disgorgement, in order to develop complexity, intensity and roundness on the palate.
Tasting Note
Right from the start, this wine is fresh and lively, it shows a dazzling youthful character, followed by a broad and appetizing palate of white fruit and acacia honey with subtle pastry and brioche overtones. The finish is long and persistent, revealing a touch of chalky minerality, a signature of the Côte des Blancs, along with hints of grapefruit, blood orange and a delicate salinity.
Food Pairing
Le Blanc de Blancs 2014 is a great apéritif on its own. It will also pair perfectly with a sea bream ceviche with lemon, a prawn risotto or a veal braised with rosemary.
Vintage
2014 is a superb year for the Chardonnays from the Côte des Blancs. It is a very consistent vintage with grapes that were perfectly ripened, yielding an abundant harvest especially in the Grands Crus villages. Following a winter “without winter”, a spring worthy of a summer, an autumnal August, it was an unexpected harvest thanks to the 4 sunny weeks leading up to the first grapes being cut!
Color
White
Appellation
Champagne, France
Farming
Ayala encourages their growers to use organic fertilizers and avoid insecticides, herbicides and pesticides.
Alcohol
12%
Suggested Retail Price
$110.00
Reviews
"Expressive"
Wine Spectator - April 21, 2021
"Flavors of apricot and plum are ripe and abundant, carried on the refined mousse with hints of golden raisin, pink grapefruit sorbet and salted Marcona almond, in this expressive blanc de blancs. Sleek acidity is well-knit throughout, creating a mouthwatering impression on the lingering finish." - A.N.
"Fleshy and incisive"
Wine Advocate - March 31, 2021
"Disgorged in June 2020, Ayala's newly released 2014 Brut Blanc de Blancs wafts from the glass with lovely aromas of crisp orchard fruit, honeyed pear, English walnuts and freshly baked bread. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and incisive, its ample core of fruit is underpinned by brisk acids and complemented by a pillowy mousse. After the chiseled 2013, this is a precise but somewhat more generous, enveloping wine. Even if that makes it quite approachable today, it will really come into its own when it picks up more complexity and texture with another year or two on cork."
"Candied lime, chalky earth"
Jeb Dunnuck - November 8, 2022
"The 2014 Champagne Le Blanc de Blancs Brut has aromas of caramel, green apple, and brioche. The palate is ripe with candied lime, chalky earth, and a softly rounded texture. " -A.F 11/22
Reviews
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Trade Materials
Other Wines by this Producer
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