Edmond de AYALA founded the House in 1860 in Aÿ, at the heart of the Grands Crus, with a melodic name from far away.
Originally hailing from a Spanish-Basque aristocratic family, insatiable inquisitive mind with an pioneering spirit, he worked at creating a reknowned Champagne House with a singular style. A pure and balanced wine style.
The AYALA style is thus defined by two inseparable pillars: purity and balance.
CHARDONNAY Signature grape variety
For many years now, the Champagne AYALA team has been exploring Chardonnay’s potential in the light of global warming. The Chardonnay grape is more capable of adapting to climate variation and warmer temperatures.
The last few years have all provided ideal growing conditions for Chardonnay, naturally preserving acidity and freshness until harvest while also proving less vulnerable to disease, ensuring pure, elegant champagnes after cellar ageing.
Chardonnay lies at the heart of Champagne AYALA’s blends. Present at over 50% in all champagnes across the range, Chardonnay brings purity and balance—hallmarks of the AYALA style.
This white grape variety is the essence of the brand ambition embodying the excellence and expertise of this grape variety in Champagne. Therefore, Maison AYALA makes Le Blanc de Blancs its signature champagne.
MICRO-VINIFICATION
on-site
The AYALA House stands out for its unique micro-vinification in Champagne, made possible by 120 small stainless steel vats. This process allows the utmost fidelity to the integrity of each cru, each grape variety, and each year, in a constant quest of precision and purity.
Located in Aÿ, at the heart of a historic site where everything is crafted on-site, the House controls every stage of production in a single location. This approach ensures bespoke craftsmanship and minimal intervention in the wines, respecting their natural expression.
LOW DOSAGE Champagnes
Committed since 1860 to a quest for purity, Champagne AYALA stands out thanks to its minimalist dosage, designed to reveal the diversity and precision of its Terroirs without artifice. From its foundation, Edmond de AYALA instilled this forward-thinking vision and innovated as early as 1865 by producing one of the very first low dosage champagnes. This singular approach, a true signature of the House, established it as a pioneer in Champagne and laid the foundations of a pure style guided by the constant pursuit of balance and accuracy.
This visionary and entrepreneurial spirit was passed down from generation to generation. In 2007, AYALA was among the first Houses to launch a zero dosage cuvée: Brut Nature, thus extending the legacy initiated by its founder. To this day, the House continues its pursuit of perfect balance through consistently low-dosage champagnes, faithful to a pure, precise, and timeless identity.
A GREAT DIVERSITY of Terroirs
The House AYALA is convinced that from a unique diversity of Terroirs comes singularity an excellence of the Champagne vineyard. It is its responsibility to preserve and reveal them without artifice.
This conviction is expressed through a richly diverse sourcing, comprising more than 70 crus across the Champagne appellation, including over 50 Chardonnay crus from the six major Terroirs that shape the House’s identity: Côte des Blancs, Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne, Sézannais, Vitryat, and Côte des Bar.
This great diversity of Terroirs contributes significantly to the balance of the House’s champagnes. Brut Majeur, the identity cuvée of the AYALA style, is a perfect example: its blend, crafted anew with each harvest, integrates this full diversity into a pure and balanced champagne.
Champagne AYALA relies on 22 hectares of estate-owned vineyards and works with nearly 100 families of winegrower partners, covering a total of 120 hectares across the Champagne appellation. Discover the House’s commitments in the vineyard.
LIBRARY OF reserve wines
An essential element in the balance of the House’s champagnes, reserve wines form a true memory of past vintages.
At each harvest, a selection of wines is set aside and stored in small vats at Champagne AYALA’s historic site. Year after year, this practice builds a precious library of reserve wines. It is made available to Cellar Master Julian Gout and the oenological committee for blending.
Marked by time, these wines develop greater aromatic complexity, structure, and depth. They enrich and balance the wines from the current vintage in the blends, bringing nuance and consistency to the House AYALA’s champagnes.
EXTENDED ageing time
At the heart of Champagne AYALA’s historic cellars, carved out of the hillside of Aÿ within the chalk, the champagnes find ideal conditions for maturation.
Low and constant temperatures, high humidity, and absolute calm: this natural environment, imbued with serenity, promotes slow and controlled ageing. The champagnes rest on lees for a minimum of three years in the cellars of Champagne AYALA, well beyond the standards of the Champagne appellation.
This extended ageing allows the development of fine, delicate bubbles and complex, perfectly balanced aromas. It also enables a low dosage, allowing the wines’ natural balance to express itself with precision. To learn more, book your visit.
