Champagne Bollinger - La Grande Année 2015 - Coffret bois

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

A traditional Grande Maison established in Aÿ since 1829, Bollinger remains at the highest level of Champagne. Its 178-hectare vineyard of Grands Crus and Premier Crus provides 60% of its supply. The entire production of vintage wines is vinified in barrels, as is a small proportion of the house's multi-millennium brut, the Special Cuvée. The latter benefits from a high proportion of reserve wines kept in magnums, ensuring unrivalled precision in the blends. In recent years, the house has created some exciting new cuvées: a blanc de noir d'Aÿ from the Côte aux Enfants parcel, which also produces a superb coteau champenois. And pinot noir cuvées named after the dominant cru in the blend, which varies from year to year. All the house wines shine at the table.

Decanter

About the wine:

An advanced vintage for La Grande Année, with obvious warmth in its roasted orange, Comice pear and mirabelle plum, all polished with a sense of savory ripeness that's very Bollinger at heart. The influence of oxygen seems a little more pronounced than in the 2014, with notes of brine, nuts and dried leaves that go well beyond the fruit. The food-friendly chewiness of the 2015 is present, but the mousse is supple and the chardonnay closes the wine with a fine squeeze of cooked lemon. This wine will begin to show its best integration from 2025, though it's open now. 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from Montagne de Reims, Grande Vallée de la Marne and Côte des Blancs, all fermented in small oak barrels and disgorged in May 2023 after seven years on lees.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the wine:

Pinot Noir (60%) and Chardonnay from 1st and Grand Crus, aged in wood, are used to produce a vintage Brut aged for almost 10 years in cork, stirred and disgorged by hand. A superb patina: deep gold color, nose of plum, apple brandy, almond, marzipan, lime and toasted sesame, full-bodied and elegant on the palate, powerful, rich and long, with aromas of yuzu, candied fruit and tarte Tatin, with a hint of cocoa bitterness revealing the wood. Style.

About the domain :

Famous house founded in 1829 by Joseph Bollinger, a merchant originally from Württemberg. It has remained a family business, although since 2008 it has been chaired by a non-family member (Charles-Armand de Belenet since 2017). With a vineyard of 179 ha, predominantly Pinot Noir (60%), and a cooperage, the company is careful to maintain its style, based on skilful blending of wines vinified separately in oak barrels (reused to avoid a dominant woodiness) and small-capacity vats. Reserve wines are kept in magnums under "petite mousse". The wines are bottled under cork and aged for a long time on their lees. Having joined the company in 2003, Gilles Descôtes took over from six cellar managers in 2013.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

The 2015 Brut La Grande Année was disgorged last year with a dosage of eight grams per liter. The wine turned out beautifully, displaying a more muscular, old-fashioned Bollinger profile in contrast to the exceptionally racy and finely daring 2014 that preceded it. The wine opens with notes of pear, orange oil and white flowers mingled with notions of mocha, toasted hazelnuts and fino sherry. It's medium- to full-bodied, layered and textured, with a dense core of fruit framed by a structuring chalky extract, and finishes long and sapid.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

The house has signed some of the biggest 2015s, totally avoiding the vegetal trap of the year. La Grande Année has superb fullness, liveliness with its usual vinous envelope and a long, chalky finish. chalky.

About the domain :

If ever there was a brand with a strong personality and a highly recognizable style, it's Bollinger. This family-run house from Aÿ produces wines dominated by Pinot Noir, vinous, deep and with a subtle patina. The history of Bollinger is incredibly rich. A benchmark house, always taking the initiative. The quality of the older vintages bears witness to this commitment to excellence, handed down from generation to generation. The character and vinosity of these gourmet champagnes remain a benchmark.

Jancis Robinson

About the wine:

Blend of 11 crus, 79% Grand Cru, 21% Premier Cru, with a predominance of 60% Pinot Noir from Verzenay, Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and 40% Chardonnay from Chouilly and Avize. All wines were fermented in oak and crushed by hand. Disgorged in June 2023. Dosage 8 g/l. Medium straw color. Very deep nose. Some richness and only the beginning of Bollinger's characteristic mushroom flavor, which should develop with time. The palate is lighter than the nose at the moment. Currently a little livelier than some Grandes Années.

Vinous A. Galloni

James Suckling

About the wine:

Seductive, perfumed aromas of toast, lemon zest and an earthy, smoky nuance lead to a palate of subtle flavors of Bosc pear, mango, papaya and even pineapple. Supported by fresh acidity on the medium-bodied palate, the wine continues to unfold with roasted nuts, honey and a hint of bitter marmalade. The palate is full, vibrant with acidity and full of finesse. To drink or to keep.

Jeb Dunnuck