2013 Bollinger Blanc de Noirs La Côte aux Enfants
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Tasting notes
One of the greatest hits from this vineyard, Bollinger’s 2013 Blanc de Noirs La Côte aux Enfants has evolved beautifully, embodying everything that made the long, slow-ripening season so compelling. Harvested on October 5 from the vineyard’s cool, northwest-facing slope, the fruit attained 10.4% potential alcohol. Disgorged in March 2022 with a dosage of four grams per liter, it unfurls from the glass with a deep bouquet of pear, wildflower honey and white peach, mingling with spice and bread dough. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied, tensile and racy, with a pure, chalky core that marries Bollinger’s characteristic Pinot Noir power with incisive acidity and underlying tension. Chiseled and mineral, it presents a stylistic counterpoint to the flavorful 2015—another highlight of this vertical—and, like its younger sibling, is well worth seeking out.
Critic scores
Allen Meadows, Burghound
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
While one might have expected the cool, northwest-facing part of this famed Aÿ vineyard to produce a rather unyielding wine in a vintage like this, Bollinger's brilliant 2013 Brut Blanc de Noirs La Côte Aux Enfants is actually easier to understand than the rather more reserved inaugural 2012 release. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of smoky orchard fruit, crisp peach, beeswax, mocha, warm spices and toasted nuts, it's full-bodied, taut and chiseled, with a deep and concentrated core of fruit, a beautifully refined pinpoint mousse and a long, electric finish. All the energy and cut that one could wish for is combined with the house's trademark vinous, complex style to deliver a wine of real character and élan.
A vinous version, with subtle, savory hints of grilled herbs and tar on the nose, revealing a minerally underpinning to the palate's flavors of black currant, bread dough, saffron, crystallized honey and nuts as they ride the fine, raw silk–like mousse. Focused and powerful, sculpted and well-integrated, with firm acidity. Superlong finish. Disgorged March 2022. Best from 2025 through 2043. 40 cases imported.
One of the greatest hits from this vineyard, Bollinger’s 2013 Blanc de Noirs La Côte aux Enfants has evolved beautifully, embodying everything that made the long, slow-ripening season so compelling. Harvested on October 5 from the vineyard’s cool, northwest-facing slope, the fruit attained 10.4% potential alcohol. Disgorged in March 2022 with a dosage of four grams per liter, it unfurls from the glass with a deep bouquet of pear, wildflower honey and white peach, mingling with spice and bread dough. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied, tensile and racy, with a pure, chalky core that marries Bollinger’s characteristic Pinot Noir power with incisive acidity and underlying tension. Chiseled and mineral, it presents a stylistic counterpoint to the flavorful 2015—another highlight of this vertical—and, like its younger sibling, is well worth seeking out.
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).