2015 Bollinger La Grande Année
I have to throw my hands up in surrender. Every lofty expectation for this wine has been so perfectly met, it’s difficult to know how to react. A drum roll? A pig roast? The truth is, it’s hard to find a gesture grand enough. The arrival of a vintage like the 2015 Bollinger La Grande Année is simply that monumental.
This isn't just another release; it's the culmination of a near-perfect growing season and a decade of patience. It’s a wine that embodies the soul of a historic House, and for those of us who have followed and carefully cellared Bollinger for years ( yes, me 🙋♂️ yes), it's a vintage we knew would be legendary the moment it was harvested.
To understand La Grande Année is to feel the history within Bollinger's walls. We arranged some tours for a few of you (please contact us if you’re interested, we’re happy to help)…and our own tours have us feeling like we walked out of a church service, in a profound place, where tradition isn't a marketing term; it's a doctrine. You sense it in the ancient cellars and the quiet dedication of the team. That reverence is why this wine is still fermented entirely in old oak barrels, a painstaking choice that imparts texture and soul. It’s why it rests for over eight years on its lees, bottled under natural cork, developing profound complexity through an act of almost monastic patience. The blend, anchored by Pinot Noir from the chalky soils of Verzenay and Aÿ, isn't just a recipe—it's the voice of their land.
The exceptional 2015 vintage gave birth to a radiant and expressive Champagne. The experience in the glass is one of pure generosity. A cascade of dark berry fruit—blackberry, ripe cherry, and blackcurrant—leaps from the glass, softening into warmer notes of red fruit compote and toasted almond. As it breathes, a subtle flash of mango and vanilla emerges, woven with the faintest whisper of wood smoke. The palate is seductive: plump and luxurious, with a texture that can only come from a great year and masterful winemaking. The finish is a captivating dance between rich dark chocolate, lifting citrus zest, and a distinct, saline minerality that speaks directly of its chalky origins. This is a wine that holds nothing back.
Google cuckoo Hulu Open YouTube would you hello do you haveBollinger'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+
