Vineyards in Ay

Champagne Bollinger ★ 4.8

AOC ChampagnePinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot MeunierFounded 1829Bollinger family (Societe Jacques Bollinger)Ay

Family-owned Ay house founded 1829, Pinot Noir-led with oak fermentation and a reserve of magnums; long the supplier of fictional spy James Bond's Champagne.

Tasting: Visits by appointment; Pinot-led house known for barrel fermentation and long lees ageing.

Signature wines: bollinger-special-cuvee, bollinger-grande-annee

Tip: The rare Vieilles Vignes Francaises comes from ungrafted, pre-phylloxera Pinot Noir vines.

16 rue Jules Lobet, 51160 Ay, France

Champagne Deutz ★ 4.6

AOC ChampagnePinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot MeunierFounded 1838Groupe Louis RoedererAy

Ay house founded 1838 by William Deutz and Pierre-Hubert Geldermann, now part of the Roederer group, with an elegant, structured Pinot-led style.

Tasting: Visits by appointment at the Ay house.

Signature wines: deutz-brut-classic, deutz-cuvee-william-deutz

Tip: Its prestige cuvee Amour de Deutz is a refined Chardonnay-driven counterpart to the William Deutz.

16 rue Jeanson, 51160 Ay, France

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