
Sustainability the Bollinger way
March 13, 2023
Moving towards a sustainable future, Bollinger is now formally including commitments in the brand in the ‘Bollinger way’
Moving towards a sustainable future, Bollinger is now formally including commitments in the brand in the ‘Bollinger way’
Review of Hundred Hills Hillside No.3 and Hundred Hills Blanc de Noirs 2019 with Founder Stephen Duckett
Richard Bampfield MW and Henry Laithwaite head straight to the cellar as they discuss the methods used for picking and fermentation.
Today on The Friday Bubble with Essi Avellan and I discuss the new release of Laurent-Perrier Vintage 2012
Today on The Friday Bubble Essi Avellan and Nick Baker discuss Bollinger’s latest release La Grande Année Rose 2014 & comparing to the previously released LGA 2014.
Club Oenologique have released the first part of 2022 Champagne Report. The report spans from Non-Vintages to recent releases.
Today on The Friday Bubble, Essi Avellan MW and Nick Baker, Founder of The Finest Bubble introduce Champagne Bollinger’s new release, the 3rd interpretation of the PN series, TX17.
Maison Piper-Heidsieck’s new series of champagne Hors-Série by re-releasing an old vintage to something from a new vintage.
Read about the launch of Louis Roederer Collection 242 the replacement for Brut Premier. Fighting for Freshness was their objective.
Krug Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition is a blend of 146 wines from 11 different years, the youngest of which is from 2013, while the oldest dates back to 2000 and a stay of around seven years in Krug’s cellars gives this edition its distinct expression and elegance.
Veuve Clicquot unveils Yayoi Kusama’s stunning creation for La Grande Dame 2012, sending a cheerful message to the whole world by imagining a joyful and colourful creation specifically made for Veuve Clicquot.
This week signals the long awaited Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Rosé 2008 named as a tribute to Elisabeth Salmon from the hugely popular and highly rated 2008 vintage.
Cristal is Louis Roederer’s flagship cuvée. Cristal 2013 is a great classic in which maturity and freshness are harmoniously interwoven ensuring potential for long ageing.
Pol Roger only release Sir Winston Churchill in the very best years, the last being 2009 and today they launch Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill 2012. This latest vintage marking the 19th release since 1975 the first vintage.
Launching this week is Bollinger R.D. 2007 extra brut; the R.D. cuvée embodies the House’s dedication to hard work and Madame Bollinger’s vision. The contrast between freshness on the palate and the spicy aromatic intensity of Bollinger R.D. 2007 brings a new experience of the cuvée to lovers of fine wine.
Tasting the New Bollinger PN VZ15 in the Jancis Robinson ‘The Wine Glass’ and Lehmann Grand Champagne.
Released on 21st July 2020
How Bollinger’s new PN VZ 15 is a glorious deep-dive into terroir – Written by Anne Krebiehl MW for The-Buyer.Net
The new Bollinger PN VZ 15 releases on 21st July 2020
We met with sixteenth generation family member and current head of house Charles Philipponnat last summer to taste the range, including the latest non-vintage creations, vintage wines and some exclusive single parcel Pinot Noirs from the famed Clos des Goisses vineyard.
During a visit to the house of Bollinger in Aÿ last year, we explored champagnes from some of the region’s hottest ever vintages, dating as far back as 1947. We also held a mini-vertical of Special Cuvée base vintages, tasted a trio of R.D.s and had a look at the new Coteaux Champenois.
Last year, Rare Champagne separated from parent brand Piper-Heidsieck, becoming the third champagne house of the burgeoning EPI group. We met veteran chef de cave Régis Camus at the vast premises in Reims earlier this summer to taste some treasures, both old and new.
Having been Mayor of Ambonnay and cellar master of Champagne Rodez – considered one of the best grower champagne producers in the region – for over 30 years, Eric Rodez is one of Champagne’s most eminent figures. We met in June to find out more about the man behind the distinctive blue glasses.
Earlier this year, we tasted a range of 2018 vins clairs with winemakers at fifteen different houses in Champagne. Thanks to exceptional weather throughout the year, some have been calling it ‘the vintage of the century’ and expectations are already sky-high. But just how much potential does 2018 have?
Lanson Chef de Cave Hervé Dantan is a huge fan of vintage 2018, telling us: “It was a dream, this harvest.” We visited the house in Reims earlier this year to sample the vins clairs and conduct a vertical tasting of all the Clos Lanson vintages from 2006-2014.
Based in Épernay, Champagne Boizel have a long and illustrious history with a tradition of trendsetting. We met with Florent Boizel, who has taken over the reins from his recently retired father, to sample some 2018 vins clairs and taste the range of finished champagnes.
Laurent-Perrier have just launched their latest vintage champagne: Vintage 2008. Chef de Cave Michel Fauconnet described 2008 as one of his “favourite years for vinification” and it’s easy to see why. The enriched texture from extended lees ageing makes this the best vintage from Laurent-Perrier since Vintage 2002.
Moët & Chandon winemaker Amine Ghanem talked us through the trials and tribulations of the 2018 vintage during our last visit to Champagne. He acknowledged it was a “challenging” vintage, but overall still “one of the best years region wide” – the resulting base wines he showed us were outstanding.
“The biggest challenge was not making too much!” With an abundance of ripe and healthy grapes, Philipponnat had a successful harvest in 2018, a vintage which sixteenth generation family member Charles Philipponnat likens to 1995, 2009 and 2012.
In early March, we met with President of Pol Roger Laurent d’Harcourt at the winery in Épernay to taste the 2018 base wines and conduct a vertical tasting of Pol Roger Blanc de Blancs vintages, dating from 1986-2012.
Billecart-Salmon were one of the first houses to pick grapes last year, kicking off their harvest on 22nd August. We tasted the vins clairs with new Chef de Cave Florent Nys, and also shared a comprehensive range of finished champagnes.
“Everything is good, my work now is to find which ones are very good.” Laurent-Perrier had a successful harvest in 2018, a year which Chef de Cave Michel Fauconnet believes will most certainly produce a stunning vintage champagne and hopefully a strong Alexandra Rosé as well.
Yesterday, Bollinger launched their latest vintage champagne, La Grande Année 2008. From the vintage of the century and with a redesigned bottle that decelerates oxygen exchange, this could be their best yet. We compared it in bottle, magnum and jeroboam at The Ledbury in London.
Today, Pol Roger launch their eagerly anticipated Brut Vintage 2012, following the release of Blanc de Blancs 2012 last month. From a vintage whose reputation rivals that of both 2002 and 2008, these champagnes are highly anticipated by critics and consumers alike.
An insightful vins clairs tasting with Dominique Demarville, Veuve Clicquot’s eminent Chef de Cave, painted a clear picture of the 2018 vintage. Fresh, ripe and mature, with plenty of ageing potential, the base wines at Clicquot were either exceptional or good… none of them were bad.
The unusual weather patterns in 2018 produced the “perfect conditions for the vineyard”, according to new Taittinger Chef de Cave Alexandre Ponnavoy. We met last month to taste the vins clairs, which displayed incredible specificity: each wine showcasing the distinctive characteristics of its individual origins.
Émilien Boutillat chose a good vintage to start his new role as Piper-Heidsieck cellar master. “The quality of the grapes was perfect all over the region,” he told us. We tasted the base wines and shared a magnificent lunch paired with Rare Champagne.
“The wines in 2018 were good overall. Some were exceptional… some over-mature.” Charles Heidsieck Chef de Cave, Cyril Brun, was slightly more cautious than other winemakers regarding the potential of 2018. We tasted a range of vins clairs and reserve wines with the always engaging winemaker at the cellars in Reims.
Not many are as excited as Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon about 2018s potential, a year he describes as having “the density of 2002 and the precision of 2008.” During our visit, we also tasted the latest Cristal Vinothèque’s and a mind-blowing pair of Cristal magnums.
Earlier this month, we tasted the base wines from 2018 with Champagne Palmer & Co. Having previously released video footage of harvest 2018 describing it as “exceptional”, Palmer clearly rate the latest vintage highly and we soon discovered why.
The 2018 Champagne harvest has now officially been underway for 2 weeks. With warm conditions continuing to prevail, most houses have been picking as fast as possible and the first juices are already fermenting. We bring you all the latest updates from Champagne.
The 2018 Champagne harvest officially began on August 20th – the earliest harvest since records began in 1822 – with the southern villages of the Côte des Bars being picked first. What does the picking schedule tell us about the maturity of the different grape varieties?
Popping a cork has become so synonymous with celebration that the particularly unique vinous qualities of Champagne can be easily overlooked. Here we shed light on the complexities of our favourite effervescent tipple, by defining some of the key terms involved in Champagne and its production.
We tasted the 2017 vins clairs at Veuve Clicquot with Chief Winemaker Gaëlle Goossens, who described it as “a difficult year, but good for Chardonnay”. We also discussed her thoughts on innovating winemaking by bridging the gap between oenology and viticulture.
Located in the Grand Cru village of Avize, grower producer Champagne Corbon are a well-known name in the region. Fourth generation family member Agnès showed us some still wines and champagnes, including the “worst of her lifetime” – vintage 1984.
Our vins clairs visit to Champagne ended at Lanson, with Chef de Cave Hervé Dantan. Here we tasted a comprehensive range of base wines, current champagne releases and some stunning magnums of Vintage Collection, from 1979-1990.
We met with winemaker Amine Ghanem to taste the 2017 vins clairs. As usual, discussion turned to the future of winemaking, of which Moët is at the forefront. Technological corks, thermovinification, thermal imagery – you name it, they’re doing it.
Charles Philipponnat describes 2017 as a “funny vintage”. We visited the house of Philipponnat to taste the vins clairs and find out just what he means. Whilst there, we also sampled an incredible range of champagnes, including new Clos des Goisses 2009.
The 2017 vintage favoured Chardonnay-dominant Laurent-Perrier. We tasted some rich and generous vins clairs with Chef de Cave Michel Fauconnet and sampled previews of upcoming Vintage 2008 and future Grand Siècle NV.
Legendary Chef de Cave Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon took us on a remarkable tour of the 2017 vintage, sharing trials on organic and biodynamic farming. We also tasted a mesmerising range of champagnes, including Cristal Vinothèque 1995.
Chef de Cave Frédéric Panaïotis talked us through the 2017 vintage for Champagne Ruinart. Although a difficult year for Pinots, we tasted some stunning Chardonnay vins clairs and sampled the upcoming Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 2007.