2015 Bollinger Grande Année
Today’s offer needs absolutely no introduction. It’s a Hall of Famer and one of my absolute favorite Champagnes - Bollinger La Grande Année . I have multiple vintages of it in my own cellar and will be adding the 2015 when it arrives. Frankly, I wish I had more in my cellar, but I lack discipline and you know what you can’t have your cake and eat it too, but I can’t resist.
Champagne Bollinger owns 140 hectares of vineyards with 104 of those planted to Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir makes up the bulk of all the Bollinger cuvees and is basically the house style. The La Grande Année 2015 is a blend of 11 crus, 60% Pinot Noir from the villages of Verzenay, Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and 40% Chardonnay from Chouilly and Avize. Pinot Noir from Verzenay brings a certain depth, elegance and tension as well as a saline finish reminiscent of the chalky terroir. It is an essential component of the blend and very much at the heart of what makes La Grande Année such a special wine.
All the wine is vinified in barrel and undergoes full malolactic fermentation. It is bottled under natural cork and then spends the next 8 years sur latte in the Bollinger Cellars. All bottles are hand riddled and also disgorged by hand. Dosage is 8g/l
2015 is an excellent vintage for Champagne as it was across all of France. Maturities and ripeness were ideal. This year's version shows off the wine's sunny disposition as scents. Aromas of blackberry, blackcurrant, cherry, and raspberry are immediately present on the nose as well as a medley of red fruits with notes of almond. Exotic touches of mango follow, dissolving into tertiary scents of vanilla and a delicate woody aroma.
On the palate the wine is plump, generous and enticing.. Texture and richness define the tasting experience. The finish blends notes of chocolate and citrus fruits, bringing a touch of acidity, lengthened further by hints of schist. A hugely generous wine!
2015 Bollinger Grande Année
Bollinger's 2015 Brut Grand Année is an intriguing wine in that is clearly reflects the decision to pick on the later side in order to avoid vegetal notes derived from the mismatch of alcoholic and phenolic ripeness. "Balance was hard to achieve in 2015," Chef de Cave Denis Bunner notes. "At 10% in sugar, the fruit was simply not ripe. We had to wait to reach +' ripeness." Bunner also opted to increase the Chardonnay, so the blend is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, as opposed to the more typical 70/30 blend, with more Verzenay than Ay in the Pinots. Dried citrus peel, sage, menthol, sage, tangerine peel and spice build with some coaxing. Light tropical overtones develop with aeration. There's real density and textural richness here. This will be a fascinating vintage to follow. Stylistically, it is the complete opposite from the much more linear 2014 that precedes it. Dosage is 8 grams per liter. Disgorged: May 2023.
- Vinous/Galloni, 96
The 2015 Brut La Grande Année was disgorged last year with eight grams per liter dosage. The wine has turned out beautifully, exhibiting a more muscular, old-school Bollinger profile in contrast to the unusually racy, fine-boned 2014 that preceded it. Wafting from the glass 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 textural, with a dense core of fruit framed by chalky structuring extract, concluding with a long, sapid finish.
- William Kelley, 95+
