Champagne Ayala, one of the oldest champagne houses, might not yet be a household name. However, its interesting history and its pioneering spirit is known throughout certain connoisseur circles. Visiting Champagne Ayala was an insightful opportunity for me to get an in depth look into this historic champagne house. Read all about my visit here!
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Introduction
Located in the Grand Cru village of Aÿ, Champagne Ayala started as a love story. No, it is not named after the village. In 1855, the son of a Colombian diplomat, Edmond de Ayala, wanted to learn how to vinify wine. To do so, he visited the Viscount of Mareuil. He ended up finding true love with Gabrielle d’Albrecht, the Viscount’s niece. They married three years later. Gabrielle’s dowry included the Château d’Aÿ and some vines. Eventually, this became the Champagne House in 1860.
This House helped revolutionize the taste of Champagne as we know it. Champagne used to be a very sugary bubbly drink — with 66g of sugar per liter, it was basically soda. Edmond’s brother, Fernand, was a friend of the Prince of Wales in England. The Prince admitted that he thought that champagne was too sweet and asked for a “more lively and pure” version. Ayala created a new product dosed at only 22g/L. This is how he became the official supplier to the crown of England. This pioneering spirit is still part of the bran’s DNA today, despite changing many hands over the years and its acquisition by the Jacques Bollinger Group.
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The Visit
The Buildings
I learned a lot of interesting things during my visit that made this experience different from other Champagne Houses. For example, the first stop was to discuss the buildings on the grounds — they are not the original ones. In the early 1900s, Champagne was suffering from the devastation of phylloxera (grape-vine destructing insects), frost, and storms. Grape harvests were meagre. Wine merchants began to source grapes from another region outside of Champagne, instead of raising prices of the existing grapes. This caused outrage that led to huge revolts. The manifestations ended up burning down the original Château d’Aÿ. The current building was constructed shortly after, just before WWI and the other wine region became part of Champagne.
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The crayères
The descent into the crayères, or chalk cellars, gave more insight into Ayala’s style. The House specializes in chardonnay-forward champagnes that are crisp, fresh, and fruit-forward. The chosen grapes are grown on chalky soil. Chalk is not only the perfect medium for aging wine (maintaining temperature and humidity). Made of ancient marine micro-organisms, it is a very fine type of limestone that acts as a water reservoir while also regulating the wine’s water consumption. In short, it maintains the delicate balance of ripeness, acidity, and aroma potential. Touching the natural “rough” rock in the first cavern was special. Generally, cellar walls are chiseled until smooth.
The Ayala crayères are a site to behold. Elegant light displays beautifully illuminate the corridors and riddling tables, installed to celebrate the 160th anniversary of Champagne Ayala in 2020. It is probably one of the most aesthetically pleasing lighting schemes that I have seen in any winery. In fact, it is not only pretty, but also functional.
The main corridor has accents of bright white lighting that give visitors mimics rays of sunlight — minimizing the sense of claustrophobia that many have underground. It is difficult to capture in photo.
Bottles, perfectly illuminated, show off the hard work of riddlers. Lees are clearly visible. Many, many bottles of champagne silently maturing for years. In fact, Ayala ages its champagnes at least double the legal minimum: non-vintage labels for three years and vintage a minimum of six.
The cellars are located 25m below ground. More than 1 million bottles (generally 5 cuvées) are produced every year. And they were all stored in these cellars.
The rooftop
A highlight of my visit was being able to access the fabulous rooftop. It offers a spectacular view of the village and surrounding vine-covered hills. Even though there was a sudden downpour during this part, I felt very fortunate for this exclusive experience. It would be the perfect spot for a tasting on a nice sunny day!
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Other facilities
Before visiting the rooftop, we visited a display area that discussed the revolts that I mentioned earlier, as well as the rebuilding of the House. I did not get to visit the pressoirs or cuveries, but I did get to see one of the 120 stainless steel vats that they use to ferment their wines. Stainless steel is used instead of wooden barrels to preserve fruitiness and minerality, its signature style.
Interestingly, Ayala kept one of its original barrels. The House had a much different style back in the day. The barrel is HUGE — at least 3x taller than me! It is too complicated to remove from the facilities, so it is on display in the storehouse.
One of the most interesting spots I observed was the “laboratory”. This is where the magic happens. Hundreds of reference wines are tasted and 70 of them are blended to maintain the taste of the House’s flagship champagne. This is where the quality testing and product development also happens.
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Tasting
I had the chance to try 4 of Champagne Ayala’s cuvées: Brut Majeur, Rosé Majeur, Brut Nature, and Blanc de Blancs 2017.
Brut Majeur is the flagship of Ayala. Remember how I mentioned that this House pioneered low dosage champagnes? This one keeps true to the House’s DNA with a minimalist dosage of 6 g/L. It is an assemblage of 70 crus and it is 55% chardonnay. I find that it is a refreshing champagne for a warm summer’s day: citrusy with white fruits and clean minerality.
Next up was the Brut Nature. Interestingly, even though it is the exact same blend as the Brut Majeur, it has a completely different taste! This is because it has no dosage whatsoever. It has crisper citrus notes and more pronounced minerality. The white fruit aromas are replaced with an appealing salinity/flintiness. This would be perfect alongside oysters or urchins.
Even the rosé is chardonnay-forward — over 50% of the blend! It still has its signature freshness and low dosage, but with notes of red berries. Think raspberry and red currant — hints of sweetness and tartness at the same time.
The tasting finished with a Blanc de Blancs 2017. 100% Chardonnay, I think this is where Champagne Ayala really shines. Aged for 6 years, it has deliciously toasty notes of buttery biscuit and pear. It still has the House’s signature freshness at the same time: a touch of citrus and minerality with a lasting finish. I highly recommend this if you can find it. Produced in limited quantities, this is a hard-to-find bottle! It was my favourite of the tasting.
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Final Thoughts
Overall, my visit to Champagne Ayala was an insightful experience. I not only learned about the House and its champagnes, but I also discovered the local history of the appellation and production process. The guide was very knowledgeable and answered the millions of questions we asked! Of course, the champagnes are great too. I recommend a visit to Champagne Ayala if you want to taste and visit someplace a little different than the other major Champagne Houses. Plus, the village is quite beautiful too.