Champagne Bollinger - La Grande Année 2014 - Champagne Brut

98/100 pts VINOUS : " The 2014 Grande Année is breathtaking. In fact, it's one of the best recent vintages I can recall. What stands out most is the vibrant energy and tension of the wine, qualities rarely associated with Bollinger, where Champagnes tend to display more breadth and volume. In 2014, you'll discover a Grande Année built on linear intensity and great precision. I couldn't recommend the 2014 more highly: it's a real gem. - Antonio Galloni

95/100 pts RP : " Offering complex aromas of crisp yellow orchard fruits, candied citrus, frangipane, nuts, dried white flowers, and subtle hints of iodine, Bollinger's 2014 Brut La Grande Année is ethereal and vinous, with an elegantly fleshy fruit core supported by lively acidity and accompanied by a lovely, fine, and precise mousse. It concludes with a long, chalky finish. This is a Grande Année that is both charming and precise, more expressive and approachable than its immediate predecessor, the 2012, yet achieving a very similar level of quality in a more challenging vintage—a testament to the serious winemaking that underpins Bollinger's current excellence. —William Kelley

The 2014 vintage is a blend from 19 villages, composed of 61% Pinot Noir and 39% Chardonnay, instead of the traditional 70/30. For the second time in twenty years (the first being 2007), Verzenay takes the lead in Pinot Noir over Aÿ, a near-complete reversal of the usual proportions. Verzenay, a north-facing village in the Montagne de Reims, received less rain than Aÿ and most of the Marne Valley, resulting in Pinot Noirs characterized more by energy than volume. This, combined with Chardonnays sourced primarily from the Côte des Blancs (mainly Chouilly, Vertus, Oiry, and Cramant), has produced a truly magical Grand Year, one that will delight Champagne lovers for decades to come.

Disgorged: April 2021. Dosage: 8 grams per liter.