2013 Ayala - Perle d'Ayala
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Tasting notes
Disgorged in July 2021 with six grams per liter dosage, Ayala's 2013 Brut La Perle is showing brilliantly, offering up aromas of crisp white peach and other stone fruits mingled with hints of shortbread, beeswax and flowers. Medium to full-bodied, suave and seamless, it's elegantly vinous, with a textural attack that segues into an ample, vibrant mid-palate that's animated but not dominated by the vintage's tangy acids. This Chardonnay-dominant cuvée is a terrific success this year.
Critic scores
Tamlyn Currin, jancisrobinson.com
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
100% grand-cru vineyard fruit. 80% Chardonnay from Chouilly and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, 20% Pinot Noir from Aÿ. 2013 was the latest harvest in the last decade. The Chardonnay was picked at the beginning of October and the Pinot Noir on 7 October. Eight years sur lattes. Dosage 6 g/l. Each bottle is disgorged by hand and checked individually for any cork taint. Real mass and substance, starting with a rich, slow swirl of cashew butter on the nose topped with white flowers. Honeyed oranges and orange-zested curds bring creaminess with ripe acidity and brightness through the heart of the wine. The long lees-ageing has given only the lightest touch of hazelnut and baked-stone savouriness, but what it has given the wine is compact silky weight pulled taut and long into the finish. Super-tiny, super-delicate bubbles. Rather splendid. (TC)