About this winery

Champagne AYALA is one of the longest-established champagne Houses; it has been based in Aÿ, at the heart of the great champagne vineyards, since it was founded over 150 years ago. Independent and family-owned, it is still today the archetype of a great and historic House, producing top quality wines which are enjoyed throughout the world for their freshness and elegance. Edmond de Ayala, founder of the House in 1860, came from a family that had always aspired to go one step further. His...

See the CHAMPAGNE AYALA detail page for more information on this brand

Product notes

N°14 will add vibrancy and contrast to fine and spicy dishes such as a carpaccio of sea bass with mango and pink peppercorns. Between richness and delicacy, it will pair equally well with a shoulder of lamb with sweet spices or a beef tartar and shellfish reduction. For a sweet note, a pavlova with Mara des Bois will subtly balance the lovely bitters of this vintage.

Production notes

Produced in an exceptional vintage, with the most pristine fruit sourced from the top grand crus villages, the No.14 has been crafted with the very best techniques permitted in winemaking practices in Champagne. After the primary fermentation has taken place in small stainless steel vats, a precise blending, and secondary fermentation is complete, the wine will age slowly in the underground cellars at the Ayala Maison for 6 years. During this extensive aging process, the wine will have been sealed in bottle via cork rather than crown cap. This detail is anything but, as all processes (riddling, disgorging, administering the liqueur d’expedition) after corking the bottle during aging must be executed by hand by the cellarmaster and her team. After aging for 6 years, each bottle will be disgorged by hand and given a low dosage of 5.3g/L.

Tasting notes

Bright color with delicate rose-gold tints revealing a fine bead and subtle effervescence. Fresh and acidulous nose. Notes of morello cherries, red currants and cherries. Frangipani flowers mingle with the delicacy of mango, lychee and passion fruit. Lively and generous attack, revealing the unctuousness of vanilla and the freshness of zesty lime. Chalky and mineral mid-palate wrapped up in warm notes of cocoa and blood orange. A finish of candied ginger accompanies a sweet bitterness of grapefruit. A firm hold on the palate with length and amplitude.