Bollinger: 2018 Vins Clairs Tasting

Shortly after last year’s harvest, Bollinger cellar master Gilles Descôtes told the drinks business: “2017 was the worst harvest of my life and 2018 is the best.” Considering Descôtes has been working in Champagne for more than 25 years, we were more than a little excited to taste the results of such a spectacular harvest and discover why he holds it in such high regard.

Each year, Bollinger dedicate a week to vins clairs tastings, hosting a series of popular events in which guests come and taste the base wines, culminating in a tasting and dinner with the growers that supply their grapes. Addressing a room full of eager palates, Descôtes introduced the main grape varieties and what they contribute to the blend this year: “The Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs brings the citrus and grapefruit; the Pinot Meunier from Champvoisy adds a more delicate texture; and the Pinot Noir brings fleshy fruit – peaches, pears, and apples.”

Weather conditions in Champagne last year were unprecedented, and for that reason Descôtes was hesitant to liken 2018 to just one single past vintage. However, he noted similarities between three others: 2004 – for its sizeable crop; 2003 – for its hot and dry weather; and 2002 – for the sugar-acid balance in the grapes.

Whilst on the topic of climate, Descôtes alerted guests to the recent pattern of early harvests in Champagne: “We started to pick [in 2018] on 23rd August and we picked in August in 2017, 2011, 2007, 2003… the previous time was 1893. So there is definitely something happening with climate change. For now, in Champagne, it’s a chance, it’s an opportunity, but for long-term business it can be a problem.”

2018 Vins Clairs

The 2018 harvest for Bollinger began in Aÿ on 23rd August. “We had natural sugars of 11 at that time, so there wasn’t a reason to wait any longer,” Descôtes said. All of the grapes and vineyards were picked at 10.4 degrees or above, with the lowest being the Côte des Blancs. Although levels of tartaric acid were the highest seen in the last 10 years, the malic acid was very low this year, and Descôtes is therefore not worried about doing malolactic fermentation.

The total acidity in Bollinger’s 2018 wines was 6 g/l, with a pH of 3.1. Descôtes confirmed that Bollinger have produced a vintage expression in 2018, which he believes is very good (and, importantly, has considerable ageing potential), but warned it is too young to know yet if it will be as outstanding as he hopes.

The Chardonnays we tasted, all from the Côte des Blancs, were fresh and forward with a nice delicacy and bright acidity. The black grapes however, are the clear winners for Bollinger this year. The Pinot Meunier from Champvoisy is so good this year it has put the small autre cru village in the Vallée de la Marne “on the map.” The Pinot Noirs, particularly the ones local to Bollinger – from Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ – were packed full of power and juiciness, hardly needing much more time to mature.

We were also fortunate to taste some of Bollinger’s ongoing experiments with the lesser known grape varieties of Champagne – Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. Once quite common in Champagne, they are now all but extinct, with just a few hectares remaining today.

Descôtes explained that Bollinger’s decision to experiment with the older varieties, which were planted in 2011, was a response to the changing climate: “We are starting to experiment with some of the old grape varieties of Champagne, like Arbane, Petis Meslier, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc… these varieties can bring some more freshness in the warmer years.”

Our base wine tasting concluded with two reserve wines, Vertus 2017 and Aÿ 2009 (the latter of which has been stored in magnum), and the recently completed Special Cuvée NV 2018 blend. Notably, Descôtes used just 26% reserve wines in the 2018 blend (compared to 50% for the 2017 blend), demonstrating the strength and maturity of the wines from this harvest.

Finished Champagne

Tasting the recently launched La Grande Année 2008 – which Descôtes described as “very creamy but with the energy of 2008” – we were told it won’t be around long, as a large amount was kept behind to be released as R.D. 2008 in the coming years. Descôtes believes the longer lees ageing will balance out the bright acidity of the vintage.

As a demonstration of the effect of longer lees ageing, we were treated to a mini-vertical tasting of R.D. vintages, from a magnum of the latest launch, R.D. 2004, to R.D. 1996 (“the 10/10 year”: 10% natural sugar, 10% acid), all the way back to R.D. 1973, which was famously served at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana in 1981.

Finally, we conducted a similar exercise with Bollinger’s unique single vineyard champagne, Vieilles Vignes Françaises, produced from two remarkable plots in Aÿ – Chaudes Terres and Clos St-Jacques – famed for surviving the phylloxera infestation of the early 20th century, which destroyed almost all of the vines in Champagne.

We tasted four vintages, including the upcoming release, Vieilles Vignes Françaises 2010, and one of the very first vintages, Vieilles Vignes Françaises 1986. The dosage in the new 2010 has been reduced to 4 g/l, qualifying it as an Extra Brut champagne, though it is not labelled as such. The 2010 will also be the first to be released in the new ‘1846’ bottle shape, which slows down oxygen exchange, producing a slightly more complex wine with longer ageing potential.