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Champagne Update: Bollinger, September 2009

My recent two-day trip to Bollinger taught me a lot, not just about how Bollinger is made but also about Champagne in general, the plans to expand the vineyard, and the current intention by the CIVC and leading houses to moderate production in order to keep prices buoyant. I will hopefully bring all these aspects of my trip to the surface in good time, but after yesterday's update to my Bollinger profile it seems to me that my first action should be to publish the notes from a tasting of wines that was held on day two.

The tasting opened with a bottle of their non-vintage wine, Special Cuvée. This cuvée is almost ubiquitous at Bollinger; there were two bottles to while away the train journey en route to Aÿ, and there was another glass thrust into my hand whilst I watched the grapes being pressed by one of Bollinger's contracted growers (shown here, right). Then there was a glass to kick off dinner in the evening. Sadly it was a no-show for breakfast the following day, but two more bottles did come my way, one during the tasting as described below and another with lunch. Thus a quintet of samples were assessed, and although my note below pertains to just one bottle, that from the formal tasting, quality and style was extremely consistent across all five bottles.

Next up was the latest addition to the Bollinger range, the Non-Vintage Rosé, which has DNA very similar to the Special Cuvée, and is certainly an equal on grounds of quality. This preceded a flight of La Grande Année, the first three vintages being 2000, 1995 and 1992, followed by the 2002 rosé. The 2000 showed clear potential for the future although it was rather awkward, but a second bottle over lunch was much better. Was this down to different disgorgement dates? This is possible, but if so it highlights the inconsistency introduced by staged disgorgement, when wines are disgorged only as orders are received as is the case at Bollinger, rather than in one gigantic operation. It may be that for two bottles of La Grande Année, wearing the same label and vintage, as long as two years may have passed between their respective disgorgements, meaning they are in fact two different wines.

After the 2000 came the 1995, a very rich and satisfying vintage very much in the Bollinger style, followed by the less typical, leaner 1992. This was followed by a solitary vintage of La Grande Année Rosé, the 2002, a superb wine which - like a number of truly great Champagnes - seemed more like a well rounded and very complete wine, of some substance and stature, which just happens almost incidentally to have some bubbles. Then came Bollinger's RD from the 1997 vintage. This cuvée is always of the same stock as the Grande Année; once the disgorgement period for that wine has finished, the bottles earmarked for RD will continue to lie undisturbed and undisgorged for several more years before they then undergo the process. The lower dosage used produces not only a drier cuvée than Grande Année, but also one with a different and fresher character thanks to the nourishment provided by the lees during over the intervening years.

Although my tasting finished there, I have also included a note on the Bollinger's 1999 Vieilles Vignes Françaises which was tasted over lunch, a wine that I have already written about here. (7/10/09)

Bollinger, September 2009 - Tasting Notes

The wines below were all tasted at Bollinger in September 2009. All my notes on the wines of Bollinger, including those presented below, are collated under my Bollinger profile. Click to locate stockists.

Bollinger Special Cuvée NV: One of several bottles tasted during this trip. This particular cuvée is a blend of 2005 and 2004 vintages (the 2004 stored in steel) in roughly equal proportions, in total accounting for 90% of the wine, with 10% reserve wines (stored in magnums under cork). Overall the blend is 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier. Some of the two base vintages saw fermentation in oak, as is usually the case. Disgorgement in early 2009. The nose seems mature, evolved and elegant, with notes of honeyed, polished wood; the reserve wines are in evidence here I think. An elegant palate, a fine mousse, broad but firm too. Overall this has a finer, more delineated composition than I recall from tastings of previous incarnations of this cuvée. Very good, and it seems ready now. 16.5/20

Bollinger Rosé NV: This is the same blend as for Special Cuvée but was produced one year earlier, so here the base vintages are 2003 and 2004. There is 5% red wine added. The colour is fairly bright, a smoked-salmon pink. The nose has a little raspberry-toffee sweetness at first, a nuance which quickly passed, leaving little notes of cherry, plum and creamy honeycomb. Elegant on the palate, full, a gentle mousse, and fine acidity. Overall harmonious, stylish, reserved, although with a firm finish. 16.5/20

Bollinger La Grande Année 2000: As always this is a blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, the former predominant (in a ratio of 2:1) in keeping with the house style. No Pinot Meunier here. The fruit is all sourced from grand cru and premier cru vineyards. We sampled two bottles of this vintage, the first in the main tasting and the second over lunch. This was fortuitous as I found this first bottle to be somewhat awkward, tight and withdrawn, with a whisp of sulphur still evident, although I know others found it acceptable or even very good. The fruit had a honey crunch to it, crisp and creamy at the same time, with a firm but generous quality and a precise mousse. I would have scored this bottle 17.5+/20, but the second was more convincing than that. This example, perhaps an earlier disgorgement, had a much more elegant style, with more finely defined crystalline fruit. Excellent wine. 18+/20

Bollinger La Grande Année 1995: This is a highly regarded vintage by the Bollinger team. It is certainly more mature and evolved on the nose than the 2000, showing good secondary characteristics including mushroom and coffee, latter showing more caramelly style. This is very open and expressive, forceful and brimming with character, and these qualities carry through onto the palate where there are notes of honey, brazil nuts and dried mushrooms, later hints of truffles and dried oranges. This has a great style and lots of impact, and although very evolved it has wonderful acidity suggesting it will continue to develop for a few years yet. Great finish. This is wonderful. 18.5+/20

Bollinger La Grande Année 1992: This was a difficult year, marked by the presence of a lot of botrytis. This bottle was disgorged in 1999, and so has seen significant post-disgorgement ageing. On the nose it has a much more mineral style, chalky and lemony, with a herbal-vegetal note coming through also. It has a good crunchy style, is tightly defined, with nuances of crushed nuts and roasted vegetables, followed by more typical aromas of mushroom and coffee, although with a mint highlight. Still broad, full and rich in terms of texture, and certainly evolved (albeit in a very different style to the 1995). Very good. 17/20

Bollinger La Grande Année Rosé 2002: This is the white Grand Année blend, 100% barrel-fermented as always, with the addition of red wine sourced from the Côte aux Enfants. The colour is just lovely, a fresh salmon pink. It is a touch high-toned at first, with a firm fruit nose, showing an exotic character with notes of peach and wild strawberry, then more characterful forest fruits and cherries. It has a deep complexity, a savoury quality that takes this out of the flavour spectrum where most pink Champagnes reside; alongside the fruit character there are notes of frangipane, almonds and a sous bois character more reminiscent of Burgundy than Champagne. The palate is elegant, stylish, full and harmonious, rich and yet gently composed, fine and broad. This is a grand vin with bubbles. 18+/20

Bollinger RD 1997: The term RD refers to the practice of recent disgorgement; this wine is essentially La Grande Année, but with the wine left on the lees for an extended period of time, in the case of this bottle more than 10 years as it was disgorged in early 2009. The dosage is lower than for Grande Année, so the finished product is drier. This wine has one of the finest beads I have ever seen, and it has a very fine nose, full and ripe, aromatic and yet full of youthful, fresh, zesty character. It has a very pure and gentle style, fresh and elegant, certainly vivacious and polished. And yet behind this sheen of youthfulness there is a very bold and rather tertiary character. Overall, brilliantly fresh yet also subtly mature. Lovely wine. 17.5/20

Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Françaises 1999: Served blind this wine showed a rich but well-judged, pale golden hue in the glass, and a captivating nose that immediately suggested this was a pure Pinot Noir cuvée, with the meaty-biscuity richness of that variety presented in an intense, evocative, very linear and defined fashion. There is concentration here, but also freshness and great style; we're at Bollinger, so the only wine that would fit this description is of course the Vieilles Vignes cuvée from the old ungrafted vines described above. The palate is divine - although I could easily be accused of being less objective now the identity of the wine is clear. It has a great paradox of concentrated, honeyed fruit set against a fine and rather light mousse and overall an elegance, a finesse, which is unparalleled. Broad, substantial but never unbalanced or ponderous, all culminating in a considerable finish, this wine's reputation is surely well deserved based on this particular example. I don't have any knowledge of other vintages of Vieilles Vignes Françaises in order to place this wine within a tighter context, but placed against a backdrop of other Champagnes this wine is superb, and a must-taste experience for fans of the region, especially those that prefer Pinot-based cuvées. Quite simply, a wonderful wine. For label images and more see my Wine of the Week write-up. 19+/20