Bollinger

Bollinger is a Champagne house at the top of its game. The historic house has introduced several highly successful new cuvées in recent years. At the same time, the classics of the Bollinger range – Special Cuvee, La Grande Annee and RD – are as strong as ever. Bollinger overperforms across the board.

Run by director Charles-Armand de Belenet since 2017, Bollinger has succeeded by combining tradition with innovation. The rich, complex house style is as important as ever: barrel fermentation and significant use of Pinot Noir continue. What has changed, aside from the new cuvées, is an increased focus on viticulture. Greater parcelisation of the vineyard area has given more precision, and also helped retain the freshness that is so important in the warmer temperatures in Champagne today.

Bollinger is renowned for its use of Pinot Noir. The house is the maker of Vieilles Vignes Francaises: a blanc de noirs from ungrafted Pinot Noir vines and one of Champagne’s most sought after (and expensive) bottlings. Pinot Noir makes up a substantial proportion of all wines at Bollinger.

Bollinger’s vintage wines are labelled La Grande Annee and La Grande Annee Rose. RD is a ‘recently disgorged’ version of La Grande Annee which undergoes very long lees ageing.

Bollinger’s latest innovation is the PN series. These wines represent an attempt to create varietal Pinot Noir Champagnes at (relatively) accessible price points, while also expressing the terroir of a particular region.

Bollinger also makes a rich, full bodied non vintage wine under the label Special Cuvee. Its highly regarded still wine made from Pinot Noir is La Cote aux Enfants.