Champagne Bollinger

ONE OF THE FEW REMAINING INDEPENDENT CHAMPAGNE HOUSES

The history of Bollinger Champagne began in 1829 with Athanase de Villermont, who inherited a vast family estate near Aÿ. His family had been established in the Champagne region since 1650, and since he was unable to trade because of his aristocratic status, he joined forces with Joseph Bollinger and Paul Renaudin. All three were far from imagining that their company would become one of the greatest Champagne Houses.

Under the reign of Joseph and Georges Bollinger, sons of Joseph Bollinger and Louise-Charlotte, daughter of Athanase, the House gained in notoriety and expanded the vineyard. The company managed to stay on course despite the great challenges of history, such as the phylloxera crisis and the Great War. In 1920, Jacques Bollinger, Joseph's son, became the head of the company. At only 24 years old, he faced the economic difficulties and those of the Second World War with aplomb and with the help of his family.

The arrival of Elizabeth Bollinger, Scottish born Law de Lauriston-Boubers and wife of Jacques, marked a turning point in the history of the Bollinger Champagne House. After the death of her husband, she took up the torch with passion and enthusiasm, while the war was raging. With her visionary and entrepreneurial spirit, "Madame Jacques", as she is known in the house, manages the company with a masterful hand thanks to her innate business sense. Passionate and dedicated, Lily is also a perfectionist who tolerates only excellence. She is also an innovator, creating the original Bollinger R.D. cuvée.

Since then, the teams at Bollinger have perpetuated the family heritage by respecting the soul, principles and values that made its reputation. Moreover, despite the many challenges it has had to face, the House is one of the few that is still independent and belongs to its founding family. It owes its success to the quality of its cuvées, obtained in particular through a constant search for excellence, but also to the solidity of the family ties, the strength of the House of Bollinger. In addition, the vineyard, comprising more than 170 hectares of vines, mainly in the Grands Crus and Premiers Crus, and making the family rich, constitutes another pillar of the company's development.

ONE OF THE MOST DEMANDING CHAMPAGNE HOUSES

The Bollinger House is one of the most demanding in Champagne. It is one of the few houses to produce the majority of the grapes used to make its cuvées itself. Indeed, this great house owns nearly 179 hectares of vineyards, of which more than 80% of the grapes are from Grands Crus and Premiers Crus of Champagne. The vines are spread over seven main vineyards. The vines are Pinot Noir in Aÿ, Verzenay, Louvois, Tauxières and Avenay. The House grows Chardonnay grapes in Cuis and Pinot Meunier vines in Champvoisy. In this perfectionist spirit, Bollinger is committed to sustainable viticulture, in particular by favouring the use of grass in the vineyards and greatly reducing the use of herbicides. It is also the first Champagne House to obtain the "High Environmental Value" certification, marking its desire to protect its vineyards.

Producing Champagnes with a powerful, complex and refined style, the House of Bollinger maintains a certain rigour at each stage of production, vintage after vintage. In this estate, there is no room for improvisation. Indeed, the teams are constantly seeking a form of perfection in order to produce top-of-the-range cuvées. The House shapes its identity around the Pinot Noir grape variety, which represents about 60% of the vineyard and gives complexity and power to the wines. As Champagne is an art for this House, the key is to capture the essence of each grape variety and express the uniqueness in the cuvées. In order to preserve tradition, Bollinger hand stirs and disgorges exceptional vintages. Moreover, it is the last company to have a cooperage workshop. A precious know-how that it is committed to preserving!

In order for the magic of Bollinger Champagnes to take place and to give them the refinement conferred by time, the House respects strict specifications. Among other things, it relies on a maturation period that is much longer than the AOC rules.

LIMITED EDITION VINTAGES

A true virtuoso of blending, Bollinger has a collection of more than 700,000 reserve magnums, joined each year by some of the best wines for the Spéciale Cuvée. These magnums stoppered with natural corks during a light secondary fermentation, allow each cuvée to reveal the full potential of each grape variety and to develop their complexity without oxidation. The House of Bollinger only declares a vintage in the best years, i.e. when the harvest is exceptional with perfectly ripe grapes and an optimal balance between sugar and acidity. This absolute intransigence has made it possible to create an exceptional cuvée called La Grande Année, fully expressing the singularity of a vintage.

LA GRANDE ANNÉE

Produced using traditional know-how, La Grande Année is an exceptional and timeless Champagne. For its production, the Bollinger teams rely in particular on a vinification process in oak barrels of 20 years old on average. This method favours the development of remarkably fine aromas. Thanks to micro-oxygenation, this increases the wine's ageing potential. After a long ageing on the lees, under cork, the wine is stirred and disgorged by hand.

The 2014 vintage was the fruit of a particularly contrasted year, giving a perfectly balanced must between acidity and ripeness. It allowed them to produce an exceptional wine combining finesse, precision and complexity.

Intense, La Grande Année 2014 has a golden hue, reflecting the maturity of the wine and the winemaking methods of the House of Bollinger. Fruity, finely iodized and precise, the nose expresses notes of cherry and lemon associated with aromas of quince and bergamot. The aromatic bouquet evolves towards notes of almond, hazelnut, peach and mirabelle plum. Opening with a fine and intense effervescence, the palate then reveals a beautiful vinosity balanced with a slight acidity. Its remarkable finesse and saline finish give this prestigious Champagne a long finish with citrus flavours.

CUVÉE B13

The Cuvée B13 is the result of a singular year. Indeed, during this year, the Champagne region faced singular climatic conditions with a very long winter with snow and frost, a rainy but timid spring, and a particularly sunny summer with sometimes violent storms. In spite of this climate, Bollinger chose to declare this very late harvest as a vintage, thus producing a limited edition.

In spite of the difficulties that the House faces during certain years, the quality of the grapes remains unquestionable. This is thanks to the virtuous practices applied in the vineyard such as the banning of inputs and the control of yields. Embodying the excellence of the Bollinger vineyards in the Montagne de Reims, the Cuvée B13 Blanc de Noirs reflects the oenological and environmental values of the House. Full of freshness, Cuvée B13 is both fruity and round. It offers notes of citrus and stone fruit combined with flavours of fresh almond and tarte Tatin.

JAMES BOND'S FAVOURITE BRAND SINCE 1973

Although he is a fan of dry martinis, James Bond also has a penchant for fine bubbles, especially the wines of the House of Bollinger. Since 1973, Agent 007 has associated his elegance and character with the Champagne of this famous house in Aÿ. A supplier to the British Crown since 1884, Bollinger symbolises excellence, quality and distinction, bringing its image closer to that of the famous British spy. The partnership is based on a 35-year friendship between the Bollinger and Broccoli families, who hold the rights to the James Bond films through the Eon company.

Although the brand is barely visible in the films, Bollinger Champagne reinforces the elegance, refinement and seductive side of James Bond. As a tribute to this collaboration, a Special Cuvée Spectre, the only opportunity to discover the 2009 vintage, has been created. This exceptional Champagne, made up of 68% Pinot Noir and 32% Chardonnay, is presented in a box, allowing it to be kept at an ideal temperature and enjoyed in all circumstances.

In addition, to celebrate more than 40 years of partnership as the official Champagne of James Bond and the film "No Time to Die", the Champagne House has developed a limited edition: the Special Cuvée 007. The latter brings together three icons, namely Bollinger's signature Special Cuvée, the Aston Martin DB5 and the legendary Agent 007.