2014 Ayala Blanc de Blanc
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Tasting notes
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. Drink over the next 6-8 years. Founded in 1860, Ayala is based in Ay with the focus on Chardonnay. Caroline Latrive, who is originally from Reims, is the chef de cave, having assumed the role in 2011. She was previously at Champagne Bollinger, which purchased the house in 2005. All the wines are vinified in small stainless-steel tanks and go through malolactic fermentation, and they receive relatively low dosage levels ranging from zero to seven grams per liter. In 2018, they built an additional winery that increased the capacity by 3,300 hectoliters.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Firm, no excess of fruit on the nose. Really quite meaty and impactful on the palate but a tad short of finesse. Is this from harder-pressed fruit? Serviceable, I’d say. (JR)
The Bollinger family-owned Champagne Ayala produces 'Le Blanc de Blancs' in limited quantities only in the best vintages. Winemaker Caroline Latrive, who has experience in a wide variety of the leading champagne houses, picks Chardonnay grapes only from grand cru vineyards to craft it. Rather reductively smoky on the nose. Big and bold – atypical Blanc de Blancs. A meaty mouthful. Bone-dry finish – so much so it's almost painful. (JR)
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.
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Product details
12.5%
Blanc de Blancs