Let’s get a quick history lesson to set the scene
It quite ‘trendy’ at the moment to make low dosage champagne. I’ve noticed the availability and the popularity go up in Australia in the last twelve months. And the house style at Ayala is low dosage but what was particularly interesting, was that it’s not because it’s a trend they are following …. they kind of started the trend 100 years ago.
Champagne Ayala was created in 1860. Its founder, Edmond de Ayala, was born in Paris but from a Spanish family who were originally from near Bilbao.
Edmond was always interested in champagne and eventually moved to Champagne and worked for a champagne house, where his talents were quickly recognised.
He worked his way up the company and – the clever man! – also married the daughter of the wine maker he worked for. For his wedding gift he was given the castle of Aÿ (which was destroyed along with almost everything else in Aÿ during the 1911 winegrowers’ revolt) and some vineyards in Aÿ and nearby Mareuil-sur-Aÿ.
Edmond officially took over in 1860 and Champagne Ayala was born. Edmond was a man with a plan and he employed his brother, Ferdinand, to move to England where he became acquainted with the British royal family and aristocracy, who all fell in love with the Ayala house style.
It wasn’t just the British royal family won over by Ayala. The Spanish royal family also favoured the champagne (which makes sense as the Ayala family was originally Spanish), with the King of Spain promoting that he started each day with a glass of Ayala champagne.
Ayala’s champagnes were unique because they were one of the first houses to create a dry style. At the end of the 19th century and start of the 20th century, champagne was very sweet and was traditionally drunk with dessert. The Russians drank champagne that was about 200-300 grams of sugar, so Ayala’s style of about 20-25g/l, was dramatically drier. Still sweet by today’s standards, where Ayala uses 6/7 g/l in its cuvées.
So with Ayala, champagne began to emerge as an aperitif making Champagne Ayala one of the largest champagne houses at the start of the 20th century, selling one million bottles a year. Not much by today’s standards, but a lot for the time.
But from these lofty heights of popularity, things took a bit of a turn and the house fell on harder times… After its founder Edmond died, the house was sold several times and production dropped to 300,000 bottles.
My guide described it like the house decided to go to sleep for a few decades, until 2005 when Bollinger bought Ayala and just last year, Ayala returned to its peak production of 1 million bottles. Which is probably why I haven’t noticed Ayala until now… they have been rebuilding and renewing. And they have done a cracking job.
