2014 Ayala Blanc de Blanc

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.