🍾 Ayala Brut Majeur

Ayala Brut Majeur is a non-vintage white Champagne in the Brut style from the house Ayala in Aÿ (Marne).

According to the house, the grapes come from 70 crus (Côte des Blancs, Montagne de Reims, Marne Valley, Sézannais, Côte des Bar); each cru, grape and year is vinified separately in 120 small stainless steel vats; the wine aged 3 years on the lees; the dosage is 6 g/l.

The house Ayala was founded in 1860 in Aÿ by Edmond de Ayala; according to the house, Chardonnay is its signature grape.

The boundaries of the Champagne area were set by a law of 6 May 1919: parts of the Marne, Aube, Aisne, Haute-Marne and Seine-et-Marne departments. The designation’s specification allows seven grape varieties, dominated by Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier; grapes are picked as whole bunches, that is by hand, and the yield is limited to 10,400 kg per hectare.

According to the Comité Champagne, Champagne is served chilled to 8–10 °C, and bottles are kept in the dark at a steady 10–15 °C, without vibration. An opened bottle is best closed with a sparkling-wine stopper and kept cold.

It is sold under the protected designation of origin Champagne: the bubbles come only from a second fermentation in the bottle, and the wine is aged for at least 15 months before sale (36 for vintage). Brut on the label is an EU sugar term: less than 12 g of sugar per litre.

Why it matters to you. No year on the label means it is not a vintage wine: the house may blend wines from different harvests. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.