David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

On the nose; bright cherries, ripe strawberry & cranberry reduction, black raspberries, raspberries, watermelon near the rhine, mixed orange citrus, oyster shells, baguette crust, understated volcanic minerals, chalk, saline, fresh pink roses and florals. The body is full and a shade gluey. The fruits are ripe, rich and candied/gummy in style. Bright cherries, black cherries ripe strawberry & cranberry reduction, black raspberries, raspberries, watermelon near the rhine, mixed orange citrus spray, saline, seashells, soft grey volcanic minerals, lots of grippy powdery razor sharp chalkiness, baguette crust, fresh pink roses & florals, acidity that is round and well done, understated delicate micro bubbles and a long, well balanced, rich finish. The reason why I prefer the Billecart Salmon, Ruinart & Laurent Perrier over the Bollinger is it’s a little too sweet for me. Photos of; the House of Bollinger, cellar, headstone that marks one of their vineyards and their harvest staff picking perfectly manicured rows. Producer notes and history...Bollinger has roots dating back to 1585 when the Hennequins, one of the Bollinger founding families, owned land in Cramant. Before the Bollinger house was founded in the 18th century, the Villermont family practised wine making, though not under their family name. In 1750, Villermont settled at 16 rue Jules Lobet, which would eventually become the head office for Bollinger. In 1803 Jacques Joseph Placide Bollinger was born in Ellwangen, in the kingdom of Württemberg. In 1822, he moved to Champagne and found work at the house of Muller Ruinart, which no longer exists. Many other Germans came to settle in the Champagne region, including Johann-Josef Krug and the Heidsiecks, who founded a house that would become; Charles Heidsieck, Piper Heidsieck, Veuve Clicquot and others. The Champagne house Renaudin Bollinger was founded in 1829 in Aÿ by Hennequin de Villermont, Paul Levieux Renaudin and Jacques Bollinger. The partners agreed that the Villermont name would not be used on the labels, hence the house name Renaudin Bollinger. Starting when Jacques Bollinger married Charlotte de Villermont, the house has been managed by the Bollinger family. Even though Paul Renaudin passed without an heir to his name, the label did not become solely Bollinger until the 1960s. Founder Jacques Joseph Bollinger married Charlotte de Villermont. The had a daughter, who had two sons Joseph and Georges. These sons took over the company in 1885 and began expanding the family estate by purchasing vineyards in nearby villages. The sons also developed the image of the brand, such as when Bollinger became the official supplier to the British court and received a Royal Warrant in 1884 from Queen Victoria. In 1918, Jacques Bollinger, the son of Georges, took over the company and married Emily Law de Lauriston Boubers, known as "Lily". Jacques expanded the facilities by building new cellars, purchasing the Tauxières vineyards, and acquiring the assets of another Champagne house on Boulevard du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassign, where Bollinger's offices are presently located. When Jacques Bollinger died in 1941, Lily Bollinger took over. Lilly expanded production with the purchase of even more vineyards, but is best known for traveling the world to market the brand. Bollinger was modernized under the Claude d'Hautefeuille, who acquired additional vineyards and further developed the brand internationally. Following Claude, his cousin Christian Bizot took over the Bollinger house and expanded world distribution. Their Winemaker also used several James Bond film movies to market the brand. Bollinger is fermented in oak barrels. At harvest, only the first pressing is used in the cuvée, unless the vintage is of particularly high quality, when a second pressing of Chardonnay will be used. Bollinger sells the second pressing, the tailles. Bollinger utilizes two pressing houses (Louvois and Mareuil sur Aÿ) to ensure a short distance between harvest location and pressing. When possible, grapes purchased from growers are pressed by the house. When the pressed wine arrives, the Bollinger cellar master analyzes the musts for quality, discarding and selling off those that do not meet the house standards. The first fermentation is done cru by cru, variety by variety, preserving many of the unique characteristics of the vines location. Bollinger is one of the few Champagne houses to do some first fermentation in oak barrels. Wines that will not hold up to first fermentation in wood are vinified in vats. Bollinger Champagnes usually undergo malolactic fermentation. The Grande Année 1995 did not undergo malolactic fermentation. Bollinger uses only traditional yeast. They’ve decided that new generations of yeasts (agglomerated yeasts and encapsulated yeasts) do not produce satisfactory Champagne. Vintage wine, including all wine to be used in a Grande Année, is fermented in small oak barrels, sorted according to origin and variety. Both oak and stainless steel are used for non-vintage wine. Bollinger also has the last Cooperage in Champagne. The oak barrels are all at least four years old, avoiding the transfer of tannins to the wine. The wines are only lightly filtered. All Bollinger Champagne spends a long time on its lees, contributing to the complex flavour of the wine. Though appellation d'origine contrôlée rules only require 12 months on lees for non-vintage Champagne and for vintage (NV wines, 15 months from tirage to release and vintage wines must be kept for 36 months from tirage to release), Bollinger ages their non-vintage wines three years, and the vintage wines from five to eight years. The Grande Année and R.D. Champagnes are riddled by hand. At disgorgement, Bollinger wines are given a low dosage, to maintain the balance and flavor of the wine. The company uses 6-9 grams of sugar per liter for the Special Cuvée and La Grande Année. The extra-brut R.D. is dosed between 4 and 5 grams. After dosage, the wines are aged an additional several months, resting for a minimum of three months before shipping. Bollinger owns nearly 160 hectares of vines, producing more than 60% of its supply. The vines are largely Pinot Noir, specifically clone 386. Bollinger believes this clone ensures good quality as well as highlighting characteristics of the various terroirs. The vineyards also include some rare ungrafted French vines from before the phylloxera. Bollinger owns vines all over Champagne, including the crus of Aÿ, Bouzy and Verzenay. — 6 years ago

Phil

9.3

Lovely balance of tree fruit and brioche. Crisp yellow and gold apple with tons of acidity on buttered autolysis goodness. Poor mans Ruinart blanc de blanc. — 9 years ago

Winston Biltz

9.2

Peach and apricot with a really smooth finish. Reminds me of ruinart blanc de blanc. Delicious. — 9 years ago

with Bob

Andrew Whittle

Co-Owner/Director Summit Estate Wines

9.2

Tasted along side another NV blanc de blanc from Ruinart - found this to be much more crisp and fresh, though as a package just pipped by the R — 9 years ago

John Steffenson

9.4

Very nice vintage rose, think I prefer Ruinart but this is really good. — 10 years ago

Matt Trader

9.4

Finally, after several years, I was able to get ahold of a Franciacorta! Traditional Method, 90% Chardonnay, 10% Pinot Nero, aged 7 months in stainless steel, then secondary fermentation in bottle, aged on lees for 30 months as a non vintage. For $26, it was better than most champagne. It was like a baby Ruinart Blanc de Blanc in character. Aromas of Meyer lemon zest, clover honey, ripe apricot, brioche, and candied ginger. Pallet full of fine, and very present bubbles, exhibiting notes of golden apples, pineapple, white pear, lemon, creme brulee, clove, and a zippy finish. The bottle was empty way to fast. — 6 years ago

Gerald Montoya

9.6

A show stopper. Complex, delicate and devoid of the normal fruit flavors one might expect from a CA sparkler in favor of briny minerality and orange oil. Beat the pants off of ruinart rosé. — 7 years ago

with Casey

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.1

This rose is an interesting change from the ones we've been enjoying lately. The fruits are slightly candied & soured. Not quite watermelon Jolly Rancher but it's close. Black cherries, black raspberries, watermelon, cherries, poached strawberries, cranberries, raspberries, tangelos & pomegranate reduction. The fruits leave a film on your palate as if you'd had a piece of hard candy. The bubbles aren't micro but they feel very delicate on the palate. The minerals are light, soft and beautiful as is the chalkiness. The finish is round, full, expressive and long. Outstanding value versus some of the more expensive roses we had lately...Krug, Billecart and Ruinart. It's not as good or as well made but it's certainly pleasurable. — 7 years ago

Tom Kobylarz

9.2

5 years on lees and 1 in tank, Disgorged earlier this year. Excellent and is quite a ringer for Ruinart, though a Brut and a blend of all 3 traditional varietals. — 8 years ago

Sam Stoppelmoor

9.4

A treat at Ruinart. — 8 years ago

Jonathan Patch

9.3

1973 fruit. Still wine from Champagne from another era. — 9 years ago

Heath Bradby

8.9

Not bad but no Ruinart — 9 years ago

Morgan Harris

Head Sommelier Aureole New York

9.5

15 years young. None of the aggressive SO2 notes you often see in '99s from other relatively large houses. Just pure fruit with tons of horsepower, this is definitely showing and well right now. Toasty autolytic notes blend in seamlessly. This wine feels like good natural bottle age, no forced reduction (a la Ruinart) or oxidation edge (Krug, Bollinger). It has a long window in front of and it should age really gracefully. Impressive. — 9 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

On the nose, strawberries, cherries, black cherries, blood oranges, soft, unstated chalkiness, volcanic minerals and fresh red & pink roses. On the palate, its delicate, fruit driven. More fruit concentration that the Billecart-Salmon but less than the Ruinart Rosés. Strawberries, cherries, black cherries, blood oranges, tangerines, nice chalkiness, round acidity, brioche & pink roses. It's much more floral than the Billecart or the Ruinart. However, the finish is not quite as long as the other two as well. But, it's still very nice. A little history on the house. Laurent-Perrier was founded in 1812 and is the main company of the Laurent-Perrier Group, whose other properties include; Salon, De Castellane and Delamotte & Chateau Malakoff. Laurent-Perrier was founded in 1812 when a former cooper and bottler, Alphonse Pierlot purchased two parcels of land named "Plaisances" and "La Tour Glorieux" in Tours-sur-Marne. When Pierlot passed he willed the company to his cellar master, Eugene Laurent, who ran it with his wife, Mathilde Emilie Perrier. In 1925 Veuve Mathilde died, and left the company to Eugenie Hortense Laurent. Eugenie sold the company to Mary-Louise Lanson de Nonancourt in 1939. In 1949 Bernard de Nonancourt became the owner of the company and saw it become one of the largest family-owned Champagne houses. The de Nonancourt family still retains majority ownership today. Check out those old moldy bottles in the small photo on the left. They've remained untouched for a very long time. — 7 years ago

Rob Brobst III

9.8

This is an excellent example of honey, vanilla, toasted brioche, and very elegant body. Refined bubbles reminiscent of the Dom Ruinart.

Please make time to get a tour from this wonderful gentlemen. Jesus you have an inviting personality that is old school in every way!

@jesus g @Paul T @Martin G Rivard @Neal Schaffer @TheSkip @Terri Walker @Warren Sapp @Vanessa D @Jacqueline @Bill Bender @leon egozi @David L @Doug Davidson @Eric S @Eric LaMasters @Jim Trobaugh @Carl Fischer — 7 years ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.2

If the Ruinart & Billecart Roses are just a little more than you want to spend on Rose champagne, this could be your huckleberry at 2/3 the price. It's just a little off their quality. This is more subtle than the Billecart with the fruit more similar to the Ruinart. Black raspberries, black cherries, strawberries, pomegranate, cherries, pink roses, crystalline chalkiness, delicate minerals, just a touch high on acidity and a polish that's very similar to both producers. A great value in quality Rose champagne. — 7 years ago

Sam Stoppelmoor

9.1

Out of magnum. Can't get this one in the states. — 8 years ago

Andres Paternoster

9.9

This champagne was recommended to me as a substitute out of stock Gosset. Awesome. So smooth. Tiny stream of bubbles I think I like it just as much as Ruinart. — 9 years ago

Cathy HO

9.5

1979 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs. Big! C'est hénaurme! — 9 years ago

John Howard

Harvest production at Hirsch and Cobb Wineries

10

One of best wines I've had in a long time. — 10 years ago