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.

In 1976, Bollinger Vintage was re-named Grande Année. Then in 1997, it became La Grande Année - 'The Great Year' - a name simple enough to illustrate its exceptional status, because only truly extraordinary years become vintage at Bollinger. A distinctive blend between a great vintage champagne and a red wine from an exclusive plot - the legendary 4 hectare steep hillside vineyard Côte aux Enfants. Here the grapes are on a chalky rich soil exposed South-east and tilted towards the sun at 30 degrees. This unique vineyard is one of the few to contain extremely rare ungrafted vines, which produce more intense and flavourful wines with better ageing potential. La Grande Année Rosé is a rare treat and a true Bollinger.

Vinification takes place exclusively in small old oak barrels (20 years old on average), maintained in Bollinger’s cooperage, of which there are almost 3,500. Riddling and disgorging are performed entirely by hand, and take place after ageing on the lees in bottles with natural corks.

Weather: 2014 was characterised by mild temperatures and frequent rainfall and a few weeks of high temperatures, a very solid vintage with good ripeness and acidity. Flowering began in June and summer was a combination of dry, wet and cold spells. Some regions saw some disease and Meunier in the Marne Valley didn’t have a great year and some of the Pinot Noir with its thinner skin made it more difficult for the red grapes. Harvest took place from 8th to 20th September. A year where it was necessary to select the red grapes carefully to maintain high quality. In general Chardonnay is the star of the vintage.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 92% Grands crus and 8% Premiers Crus | Pinot Noir: Aÿ, Verzenay | Chardonnay: Le Mesnil-sur-Oger & Oiry
Grape Varieties: 63% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay | inc. 5% Red Wine from Côte aux Enfants vineyard
Dosage: 8 g/l
Disgorged: August 2021
Lees Ageing: 6.5 years
Drink: Now to 2040+

Tasting Note: The pleasurable and vibrant La Grande Année 2014 as the base, the red Pinot Noir wine from La Côte aux Enfants vineyard blends in perfectly, creating La Grande Année Rosé of effortless beauty and seamlessness. The wine comes with bright, orange hued peachy color. There is a sweet strawberry note to the nuanced nose of cherry, peach candy, vanilla, licorice and quince. It is for the time being youthful with the rainbow of berry aromas dominating. Yet the refined spiciness comes forward stronger on the silky-smooth palate of utterly sophisticated phenolics. The overall impression is elegant, even if vinous, with the brisk acidity enhancing the feeling of vibrancy and lightness. The wine ends on a gourmand, savoury and fruity note. A gorgeous La Grande Année Rosé. Tasting note for a bottle disgorged in August 2021. - Tasted by Essi Avellan MW