What's So Special About BOLLINGER Champagne?

Good evening. What can I get you, Ms. Bond? A vodka martini. Shaken, not stirred. Who are you kidding, miss? You only drink champagne. In that case, I'll take Bollinger. Of course. I must admit, I do have a weakness for Bollinger. It's been my champagne of choice for years. Cheers. Hi, everybody. This is Agnes from No Sediment, and today we're going to talk about James Bond's champagne of choice, Bollinger. If there's one winemaking region in the world where brand really, really makes a difference, it is champagne. Indeed, Bollinger is one of my favorite big brand names of champagne, offering quite expressively aromatic wines with both lightness and richness in the glass. The house was founded in 1829 and is located in Ailly-Champagne. Later, similarly as with other famous champagne houses, Bollinger also experienced positive advancement with a widow in charge, which was Lili Bollinger. In fact, she's the one with the famous quote about drinking champagne when sad and when happy, or when alone or with a crowd. Her insights and beliefs are still present in the champagne house nowadays, such as use of oak barrels. Even though Bollinger is negociant, meaning they essentially buy grapes to fulfill the demand for their champagnes, they own an impressive 160 hectares of vineyards in the region, allowing them to ensure the quality of the fruit from the very beginning. In fact, they even own a small plot of Pinot Noir on their original roots, responsible for one of their top Cuvée champagnes, Vierving Francaise. Bollinger is a house that always makes their champagnes based on Pinot Noir grape. I have seen other brands that have never been associated with Chardonnay grape, all of a sudden launching blanc de blanc champagnes because market demands it. But that's not the case yet with the Bollinger. They have been true to their historic style. As I mentioned before, they have also been true to their use of oak barrels, which is an element highly criticized in champagne production. You might have noticed that most wine critics will praise the purity of fruit and delicacy, while use of oak barrels might overshadow that. Only few houses seem to be able to retain that lightness and freshness while using oak, and Bollinger is definitely amongst them. However, oak also introduces some oxidative characters, such as bruised apple and light spiciness, which in my opinion only adds to its flavor complexity. Another practice worth mentioning is that Bollinger ages their reserved wines in magnum that have undergone short second fermentation before. Thus, these wines amazingly retain their freshness and are intensely aromatic, and is probably one of the reasons why Bollinger's special cuvee is so impressive for entry-level non-vintage cuvee. Another thing I want to mention before we open this champagne is its unique bottle shape. Maybe you have heard me or someone else say that magnum is the perfect size for champagne bottle. In fact, I made a video about why size matters. Apparently, this is an old bottle shape found in Bollinger's cellars, and its swan-like thinner neck helps to create environment closer to that of a magnum bottle. Respectively, the ouillage, which is essentially the headspace, has ratio to the wine that is closer to that of a magnum bottle. So let's see what's so special about Bollinger champagne. I have tasted Bollinger's champagne, or specifically Bollinger's special cuvee, in many blind tastings, and somehow I have always preferred it amongst many, many different sparkling wines or different champagnes. I think it represents a typicity which champagne can be quite rich, but at the same time very elegant and light, and the aromas on the nose here are very dense. You might have noticed I have a bigger glass for this wine. It is because it is a big wine. It is a rich wine. It has a lot to offer on the nose. I mean, even here, you have the bruised apple that I mentioned before, but you also have this yellow, ultra-ripe, apple-y aromas that are mixed within some notes of brioche, freshly baked bread, and yeasty characters. It is quite complex for non-vintage, entry-level cuvee. Very balanced on the palate. You have that acidity refreshment, but you have very tiny, very delicate mousse. It's not aggressive in any way. It is almost creamy, almost playful. You might have noticed that I like this champagne a lot. There is some toastiness and spiciness to it, both felt on the nose and the palate, which maybe not all wine professionals would be crazy about, but I do enjoy it, and I like it quite a lot. I think Bollinger is also one of the very well-structured champagnes. You know, when we talk about Chardonnay-based champagnes, they are usually this ballerina-like lightness, tension, and elegance. But then for this specific Pinot Noir-based champagne, you have that structure, that kind of muscle, that strength in it without losing the lightness. So what is so special about Bollinger champagnes? And I will maybe this time focus specifically on Bollinger Special Cuvée. We consider Bollinger Special Cuvée to be this introductory cuvée of Bollinger style, yet it offers so much more. And one more thing, for introductory style, which is Special Cuvée, this wine can age. I mean, I sometimes am a bit afraid to age some of my other non-vintage champagnes, but with Bollinger, I am never afraid to forget it in my wine cellar. I know it will only become more complex and richer, and maybe even show more intense aroma profile. Cheers! Another great champagne, complete opposite of Bollinger, is Tétangé. And I also made a video about it. What's so special about Tétangé? Make sure to click here.