Oger

Oger sits between Avize and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger on the south-facing chalk slope of the Côte des Blancs, sharing the same belemnite bedrock and Chardonnay monoculture as both. For most of the twentieth century the village held Premier Cru rather than Grand Cru status, rated at 99% on the Échelle des Crus while its two famous neighbours held the full 100%. That changed in 1985, when Oger was promoted alongside Chouilly, Oiry, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Verzy, the last expansion of the classification before the system was abolished in 2010. The terroir was effectively unchanged, but the label finally caught up with what the trade had long understood about its parcels. The wines from Oger sit stylistically somewhere between Avize's tension and Le Mesnil's austerity, and a small but committed group of growers from the village have built reputations alongside their better-known neighbours.