Bollinger Special Cuvée NV
- Region
- France » Champagne » Champagne AOC
- Type
- white traditional sparkling, brut
- Producer
- Vintage
- NV
- Disgorged
- N/A
- On lees
- N/A
- Grapes
- Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier
- Alcohol
- 12
- Sugar
- 8
- Volume
- 750 mL
- Cellar
- not available
Ratings
Special Cuvée greets me with a simple and rather restrained bouquet. It whispers in pears and croissants baked for the queen's funeral. Thanks to oxygen exposure it breaks from petrification spell to waft with notes of lemon and hazelnut. On the palate, it's round and tasty with some good acidity. The aftertaste makes me think that the agent drives an enormously huge car.
Bollinger Dinner #1. Profound and slightly oxidative bouquet full of brioche, crème brûlée, baked pear, lemon and nuts. Well balanced, creamy and fruity, almost full bodied.
About Producer
Bollinger, a renowned French Champagne house, has been a symbol of luxury sparkling wines since its establishment in 1829 in Aÿ, France. Founded by Hennequin de Villermont, Paul Renaudin, and Jacques Bollinger, it remains one of the few independent Champagne houses, continuously managed by the Bollinger family since 1889. Bollinger's uniqueness lies in its deep roots in the Champagne region, dating back to 1585 with the Hennequin family. This storied history, coupled with their commitment to maintaining family management and independence, sets them apart in an industry increasingly dominated by large conglomerates.
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 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.
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.