Bollinger is one of the most famous and historic Maison of Champagne, founded in 1829 and, since 1884, awarded the prestigious Royal Warrant, the certification of the status of British Court official supplier (whose golden-transparent adhesive stands just above the label of its wines). The winery is still owned by the homonymous family that over time has come to own 178 hectares of vineyards, mainly Premier Cru and Grand Cru in the sub-area of Aÿ.
The characteristic of the wines produced is that they are composed for the most part of Pinot Noir, the winery signature, preserved in over 700,000 magnums that constitute one of the largest assets of vins de réserve of the entire Champagne region.
In the vineyard, the Maison uses a sustainable approach, with a strong reduction in the use of synthetic chemicals, the grassing of vineyards, the reuse of wood pruning and the planting of bushes and fruit trees between the rows to preserve biodiversity.
Among the owned vineyards a note apart is deserved for the 2 parcels Chaudes Terres and Clos Saint-Jacques, exposed to the south and protected by walls, which have a total extension of about a quarter of hectare, where is practiced an archaic shape viticulture. Their peculiarity is given by the fact that the vines of which they are composed (100% Pinot Noir) date back to the early ‘900 and have escaped, miraculously, the scourge of phylloxera, becoming a real ‘historical memory’ of Champagne. From these vines originates the most sought-after and prestigious Champagne of Bollinger: the Vieilles Vignes Françaises whose grapes, after vinification, rest and ripen in fûts de chêne (also doing the malolactic fermentation), before aging for a long time in glass.
The 2002 vintage has an intense golden color with a fine perlage and a slightly hinted foam. The nose, really rich and charming, begins with salted caramel, sultana, peach in syrup, orange blossom honey and chamomile, then slowly comes out an outline of yellow melon, vanilla, toasted hazelnut and white pepper, with slight final echoes of moka, burnt bone and damp chalk. The palate is caressed by the delicate perlage, while a pleasant duet develops between sapidity and acidity, with a return of the sultana and a ‘Kimmeridge’ by the book, enriched with a slight but tasty sensation of Sherry Oloroso which, together with the ripe yellow fruit, constitutes the hinge around which develops the long and creamy closure.
Rating: 97/100
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