Champagne Egly-Ouriet Ratafia

Ratafia de Champagne is liqueur apéritif, made with the juice of freshly-picked Champagne grapes, and fortified immediately after pressing (to prevent fermentation commencing) with grape spirit distilled from Champagne grape skins. It belongs to the same family as Cognac's Pineau des Charentes.

As with anything that is bottled by this great grower, this is not your average example of the genre! Apart from the renowned work in the vineyard, Egly uses only 100% Grand Cru, Estate-grown Pinot Noir. The fruit is sorted and pressed gently and only the finest grape spirit is added.

When you consider that most Ratafia comes from a Champagne producer's weakest fruit, you can begin to understand that we are not talking about a standard example here! As we have come to expect, this perfectionist grower refuses to aim for anything less than greatness. It comes from a particular harvest and after four years mellowing in barrel, it is a stunningly pure and intense expression of this rare style that can be drunk on its own, over ice, with soda or used to make a wonderful alternative to a kir. It also stays fresh in the fridge for months.