2015 Champagne Bollinger La Grande Année
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Tasting notes
The latest release of Bollinger’s Grande Année is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, all sourced from Premier and Grand Cru vineyards across 11 Crus, with a focus on Aÿ, Verzenay, Chouilly and Avize. A gorgeous golden colour, this is already wonderfully expressive – with notes of soft amaretti, roasted almond, yellow plum, candied lemon peel, lemon curd and grapefruit pith lifting from the glass. Bollinger’s trademark power fills the palate, a broad and profound wine that expands in the mouth, at once generous and tightly coiled. There is such potential here, with a backbone of taut acidity that plays with the weight and dry extract in the wine. The finish is long, with savoury, mouth-watering salinity and a lemon sherbet freshness. Gorgeous now, but this will be even better if you can resist it for a couple of years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Richard Juhlin
Essi Avellan MW
More reviews and scores
A bright silver/yellow color, the 2015 Champagne La Grande Annee Brut is a Pinot Noir-dominated blend with Chardonnay that was released in March of this year. This vintage offers decadence and a fleshy profile, with full-bodied richness and ripe notes of tangerine, apricot, almond, and fresh floral perfume. It speaks to the vintage's sunny nature, though without showing signs of oxidation or herbal notes. It was aged under cork for seven years before release. Tasted for a second time at my office in New York, it offers more immediacy, especially compared to the tension-driven focus of the 2014 release. However, it should also continue to improve over the next decade or more. Disgorged April 2024 with 7 grams per liter dosage. Drink over the coming 15 years.
A bright yellow straw color, the 2015 Champagne La Grande Année is a little shy on the nose initially but opens to reveal a slightly sunnier feel with notes of mandarin orange, bitter almond, chalky earth, delicate toast, and spice. It’s more intense on the palate, with a pithy and broader structure. This was a tricky year, but the mousse is lively and has lift, and is not overtly vegetal in the profile. A full-bodied and savory wine all the way through, with a briny feel on the finish, it’s going to benefit from another year or two in bottle and drink well over the coming 10-15 years. For a long time, Bollinger only allowed private visits, but they plan to open a visiting center in 2027 in the center of Ay and are also going to increase production from their current 4000 barrels to 5500. In addition, they’re going to start adding information to the label of their Special Cuvée.
Full bottle 1,637 g. A blend of 11 crus, 79% Grand Cru, 21% Premier Cru, predominantly 60% Pinot Noir from Verzenay, Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and 40% Chardonnay from Chouilly and Avize. All oak-fermented and hand-riddled. Disgorged June 2023. Dosage 8 g/l. Mid straw. Very deep-flavoured on the nose. Some richness and only the beginning of Bollinger's trademark mushroom flavour which I would expect to develop with time. Lighter on the palate than the nose at the moment. It's currently a little more sprightly than some Grande Années. (JR)
About the producer
Bollinger is one of the most renowned and coveted Champagne Houses in the world, famous for its Pinot-Noir-dominant wines, in particular La Grande Année and the rare Vieilles Vignes Françaises (from pre-phylloxera vines).