93pts James Suckling
This is really delicious, with buttered-brioche and bread-dough character. It's full bodied but not heavy. Just rich and plush. Creamy and round-textured. Extremely long aftertaste. Pure chardonnay. Aged six years on the lees. 5 g/l dosage.
93pts Decanter
Delicate, fresh and romantic bouquet of lemon, jasmine, spring flowers and orchard fruits. Very sappy and round, the palate is perfectly balanced and has both a pinpoint mousse and a crystalline texture. Although quite approachable today, it will come into its own when it picks up more complexity and texture with another year or two on the cork. 100% Chardonnay. Dosage of 6 g/L.
93pts Jeb Dunnuck
A tricky vintage and an especially complicated vintage for Pinot Noir in 2016, the 2016 Champagne Le Blanc De Blancs is a bright silver-yellow hue and offers an airy and springy floral bouquet in its pastoral notes of white flowers, honeysuckle, fresh pear, and dewy earth. Medium-bodied, it’s more rounded on the mid-palate, with a fluffy mousse and supple notes of quince and fresh brioche dough. It’s elegant and approachable, with its citrus profile lasting on the clean finish. It has more substance but remains elegant and refreshing and does not feel dilute.
92pts Wine Enthusiast
A blend of fruit from the Côte des Blancs, this fine, crisp apple-flavored Champagne is taut, tightly textured and with plenty of aging potential. Drink from 2025.
90pts Vinous
The 2016 Le Blanc de Blancs is one of the better wines I have tasted here of late. Exuberant and quite expressive, the 2016 soars with cents of lemon confit, marzipan and sweet spice, all in a forward, open-knit style that offers good near- term appeal. All this needs is a bit more focus in its bouquet, but is still a big step up from the past. Light tropical accents linger on the close.
Winemaker's Notes
Recognizable by its both pure and creamy style, Le Blanc de Blancs is a genuine ode to Chardonnay. The emblematic cuvée of the House.
Brilliant and contemporary, this prestigious cuvée flourishes in a special bottle, promoting the development of the organoleptic profile during the 6 years of ageing on lees in the cellars.
History
Colombian by birth, in 1850 Edmond(o) de AYALA settled in the Champagne region - in the Chateau d'Aÿ to be exact. The chateau was the property of the Viscount of Mareuil, who soon taught Edmond the subtleties of the champagne business. In due time, Edmond married the Viscount's niece, whose fabulous dowry included both the Chateau d'Aÿ and the superb vineyard around it. All the conditions were in place for the creation of a Champagne House. Thus Champagne AYALA from the Chateau d'Aÿ came to be. Its notoriety spread fast, and quickly reached the shores of England.
When Edmond died, his three sons took over the business. In 1911 they suffered the "Vinegrowers Rebellion" - a revolt against the practices of certain unscrupulous Houses, who brought in grapes from outside of the region to be vinified and sold as "champagne". Even though Ayala was not on the blacklist (being totally innocent), it and the other Houses on the Boulevard du Nord in Aÿ were burned to ground by the angry mobs because there were no troops to defend them. The House was completely rebuilt and functioning by 1913. A public liability company was formed in 1922 that still exists today under the name "Champagne AYALA, Société Anonyme". Unabled to cope with the global economic crisis of the 1930s, then House was sold to an English bank before being bought by a Champagne vineyard owner: René CHAYOUX.
René CHAYOUX so trusted and respected Jean-Michel DUCELLIER, his partner since 1948, that he appointed DUCELLIER as his successor at the head of his businesses and estate. An estate that was made all the more impressive by the acquisition in 1961 of the illustrious Chateau LA LAGUNE, a Médoc Classified Third Growth in Bordeaux's Haut-Médoc region. Since 1968, Jean-Michel has with both affection and intelligence cared for the fortunes of Champagne AYALA and Chateau LA LAGUNE. The House of AYALA, a family business, is one of the few to have remained independent. Jean-Michel and his son Alain DUCELLIER who is today at the head of the company, both run it with energy and enthusiasm. They devote themselves to the status of the House's name worldwide, and they proudly receive their clients at their superb Chateau de Mareuil-sur-Aÿ.
