Bollinger Special Cuvee Champagne Magnum 150cl

Product Information

And, future expressions of the cuvée will always be pure Pinots, focused on a particular village in Champagne. Future releases in the PN range will follow the same philosophy set by Gilles using the 2015 base wines – after each harvest there will be a blind tasting contest for the best expression of Pinot Noir. We reveal the full story behind Bollinger’s first new permanent addition to its Champagne range since 2008, including the fact it came from a contest. The first new permanent addition to Bollinger’s range in 12 years: PN-VZ15 What marks the ‘Champagne’ method from other sparkling wines is the fact that this complex and gradual maturation process, along with the second fermentation, takes place in the same bottle as the wine is sold. Non-Vintage is by far the most popular style of Champagne, representing as it does the producer's house style. The name is rather misleading; Krug's preferred term, 'multi-vintage', is perhaps more appropriate, since an NV will be a blend from a number of vintages. Consistency is crucial, and it is here that the skill of the blender comes to the fore.

Champagne Bollinger owns an impressive 178 hectares of vineyards, of which 85% are in Grand Cru and Premier Cru villages. Their land is spread over seven main villages: Aÿ, Avenay, Louvois, Tauxières and Verzenay planted with Pinot Noir; Cuis with Chardonnay; and Champvoisy with Meunier. Bollinger are one of the few Houses to produce the majority of their own grapes for their blends. Pinot Noir represents 60% of the House's vineyards and defines the House style: complex and powerful with remarkable structure. In 2012 Champagne Bollinger was certified High Environment Value (HEV) this certification rewards a number of environmental procedures implemented at the Maison. With three full time winemakers at Bollinger, there was a blind tasting of a triumvirate of base wine blends, with the top-performer being a pure Pinot Noir from the grand cru village of Verzenay combined with 20% reserve wine stored in magnum from Bollinger’s cellar.

Over the years, Bollinger has built its vineyards at the heart of the finest crus in Champagne. Champagne Bollinger’s 179 hectares of vines are made up of 85% Grand and Premier crus and are farmed by our teams of growers across 7 separate vineyards: Aÿ, Avenay, Tauxières, Louvois and Verzenay for pinot noir, around the Montagne de Reims, Cuis for chardonnay on the Côte des Blancs and Champvoisy for meunier in the Vallée de la Marne. Bollinger Champagne is available at The Champagne Company and began with Joseph Bollinger in 1822 who took up employment with Müller-Ruinart, but later joined forces with Paul Renaudin and the Comte de Villermont to form Renaudin, Bollinger Co in 1829. The Bollinger vineyard estate has 152 hectares of vineyards in the heart of the Champagne area in the grand crus and premiers crus with a style derived from Pinot Noir grapes; grown in the very best grand crus of Ay, Bouzy and Verzenay. Bollinger recently bought Ayala Champagne in 2005. Bollinger? If it is a ‘69, you were expecting me.' Moonraker, 1979. Champagne Bollinger continues more than 50 years of 007 and the Bollinger / James Bond relationship. Today Bollinger Champagne remains James Bond's favourite and bears the Royal Warrant. Vintages are produced only in exceptional years from grand and premier cru vineyards. The starting point was to create a little brother of Vieilles Vignes Françaises, because the quantity is very limited and the price is very high,” said de Belenet. Champagne sweetness: Champagnes, on the whole, are less sweet than they were 100 years ago, mainly as a result of consumer demand. Brut is by far the most common style.

It’s also worth noting a few further aspects to the inaugural release, which goes on sale next week. Rosé Champagne is unique in that it is the only rosé in France that is allowed to be made by mixing red and white wines, as opposed to the normal method of using dark-skinned grapes and macerating them for a short period, so a little of the colour is leeched. In the past some houses felt it rather beneath them to produce rosé Champagne, but almost all do so now. Another of Bollinger’s distinctive features are two plots, the Clos Saint-Jacques and Chaudes Terres, which have never succumbed to phylloxera. These ungrafted vines are entirely tended by hand and reproduced using a form of layering called provignage, thereby providing the means to preserve this extraordinary heritage from which the very exclusive Vieilles Vignes Françaises cuvée is produced. Elisabeth Bollinger was also passionately involved with the House’s destiny. She was only 42 when she lost her husband at the height of the war; without hesitation and with great dignity she stepped in and threw herself heart and soul into her new role.A recent study proved that Champagne may be stored equally well standing upright as horizontal. The pressure inside the bottle ensures the cork does not shrink and dry out for many years. Champagne is sensitive to light and warmth and should always be stored somewhere dark and cool. The first was its longstanding focus on the Pinot Noir grape: Bollinger is based in Champagne’s Pinot heartland, Aÿ, and the producer has a minimum of 60% Pinot in all its expressions, including its Brut NV, Special Cuvée. Created under strict conditions in the Champagne region of France, Bollinger Special Cuvée's unique taste is the result of blending freshly harvested grapes with reserve wines to achieve the familiar, Pinot-strong mix. It features fruity undertones with a rich velvety texture. The nose has hints of brioche, with undertones of fig and spice. This is a dry, rather than sweet, champagne. The complexity of the taste can be attributed to the age of reserve wines, often up to fifteen years old, which create the multifaceted taste at the heart of the Special Cuvée. The champagne is fermented in oak barrels, which also contribute to the unique taste. The wine pairs well with fish and other seafood, though will generally complement most cuisine. Top Bottles at Low Prices PN VZ16 is the second interpretation in a new series that will be released every year, always with a focus on one of Bollinger’s Pinot Noir crus, or villages. Each year the cuvee will be an expression of a different cru from the base year that highlight's its distinctive terroir and taste. PN VZ16 highlights Verzenay (VZ) which makes up 50% of the blend with the balance from Avenay and Tauxières. The blend features 50% from 2016 and 50% of Bollinger's reserve wines with the oldest from 2006.

Gilles Descôtes had a crazy idea in 2015: he organised a contest for the wine committee team to produce the best Pinot Noir, with the winner becoming a new cuvée,” recorded de Belenet. Champagne is made from chardonnay, pinot noir or pinot meunier grapes (there are one or two other permitted varieties but these are very rare) grown on chalky hillsides within a strictly demarcated region centred on the twin towns of Reims and Epernay, some 90 miles east of Paris. After hand harvesting, each grape variety is vinified separately, and in the following spring, the wines are blended unless a blancs de blancs is to made in which case any blending will be from parcels of chardonnay that were vinified separately. Yeast and sugar are added, and the wine is bottled for its second fermentation which creates the bubbles, or mousse. Pinot Noir accounts for nearly 40% of the plantings in Champagne and lies at the heart of most blends - it gives Champagne its body, structure, strength and grip. It is planted across Champagne and particularly so in the southern Aube district.

Bollinger PN TX17 Pinot Noir Brut Champagne 75cl in Box

of vineyards in Champagne are planted with Chardonnay and it performs best on the Côtes des Blancs and on the chalk slopes south of Epernay. It is relatively simple to grow, although it buds early and thus is susceptible to spring frosts. It produces lighter, fresher wines than those from Burgundy and gives finesse, fruit and elegance to the final blend. It is the sole grape in Blancs de Blancs, which are some of the richest long-lived Champagnes produced.