This is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay from 40-year-old vines in Ambonnay. The wine was aged completely in barrel and there was only one gram per litre dosage. It is a seductive, layered, powerful expression of Ambonnay and, as with the Blanc de Noirs, represents one of the very finest wines of Champagne.

Far from falling in the shadow of his spectacular 2012 and 2013 releases, the 2014 is very much their equal. Francis Egly told us that he believes it’s one of the finest Millésime wines he has produced. The summer was cool, and then from mid-August through early September, he had ideal ripening conditions and the family harvested exceptional fruit.