Doing Patsy Proud: An Effervescent Evening at Champagne Bollinger
In 2017 I watched Absolutely Champers on BBC from the comfort of my couch, while actors Jennifer Saunders & Joanna Lumley travelled to Champagne, France. The pair were invited to the original Bollinger family residence where they sipped 1992 Bollinger from a magnum to toast to the year that their hit TV show Absolutely Fabulous was first broadcast. I remember the feeling of wonder and envy as the camera panned into the iconic Bollinger Maison (pictured) and the pair narrating informed viewers that the family residence was strictly invite only.
I almost burst from my chair, exclaiming to my mother beside me, how much of a notion it would be to have the opportunity to visit. Never in my lifetime would that be afforded to me, one could only dream of mixing with the rich and famous, perhaps piggybacking on their success to garner an invite. Little did I know that nine years later I would be sitting in Madame Bollinger’s private dining room, just as Jennifer and Joanna did, beside Cyril Delarue, a sixth-generation Bollinger family member being treated to the most amazing bottles that I could only fantasise to taste.
The evening began with a welcome drink of PN AYC18. The PN collection, wholly Blanc de Noir, represents Bollinger’s vision of Pinot Noir, with each edition conveying a unique expression of this fickle grape. Beginning with PN VZ15 in 2020 Bollinger has continued to release a new cuvée, selecting one vintage and several terroirs with one main cru dominant in the blend.
Grapes for PN AYC18 largely come from the Grand Cru village (of which there are only 17) of Aÿ with base wine taken mostly from 2018. The cuvée is blended with grapes from other villages including Verzenay (Grand Cru) and Tauxières (Premier Cru).
Pinot Noir is the dominant grape in all of Bollinger’s cuvées and throughout the evening we explored six Champagnes, each presenting a different interpretation of Pinot Noir, terroir and vintage. As we sat down to dinner our next wine was La Grande Année 2015. Now I’m a Champagne drinker, and I’m a Bolly girl while we’re at it. My non-wine friends have even gotten a taste for the good stuff and a bottle of Bolly is now always front and centre at our meet-ups and dinners - Nadine I’m looking at you. But La Grande Année 2015 isn’t something that graces my table often.
The wine pros will know this part, but for those who are a little more green to the Champagne world, it’s useful to know that most Champagne you’ll see in your local store or that you’ll taste will be Non-Vintage (NV). This non-vintage champagne is made by blending wines from different years (known as reserve wines). This blending allows winemakers to maintain a consistent flavour and quality from year to year, achieving a “house style”. Speaking to various winemakers or chef de caves in the Champagne region they all say that NV is the hardest style to make because they are constantly striving to achieve that same house style each year so that when you pick up a bottle of Bollinger Special Cuvée NV in France, Ireland or China they each represent the houses signature style.
That brings us to vintage Champagne. This is only made in the most exceptional years, with some being regarded as stand-out years and the wines made from these vintages commanding high prices. Vintage Champagne contains grapes harvested from a specific year, allowing drinkers to enjoy a glimpse into the climate of that vintage. Each bottle of vintage champagne reflects the unique characteristics of that year's harvest, making it distinct and often more exclusive compared to non-vintage champagne. I’m still dreaming of tasting my vintage 1990 someday!
While most Champagne’s are vinified in stainless steel tanks to preserve the purity of the fruit and the full expression of the grapes without any external forces influencing the wines, Bollinger is one of the few houses that vinify in oak barrels, however only their best wines undergo this process, specifically wines from their Grand Cru and Premier Cru parcels. Gaël Chaunut, cooper of Champagne Bollinger has said“We only use second-hand barrels from Burgundy where they have already vinified Chardonnays, so we avoid the woody taste of new barrels.”.
Why does Bollinger do this? Oak is porous, meaning that it allows small bits of oxygen through the wood and into the wine. This oxygenation creates more aromas and flavours giving more complexity to the finished wine.
Grapes for La Grande Année 2015 come solely from Grand and Premier cru sites. Only after spending 10 years ageing in the cellars is this wine ready to be released. The bottles are riddled and disgorged by hand - learn more about these processes here, showcasing Bollinger’s commitment to keeping this tradition alive.
If your French is less Jacques Cousteau and more Del Boy from Only Fools and Horses I’ll inform you that Le Grande Année translates to “The Great Year”, a simple name that sums up vintage Champagne in a nutshell…or should I say a grape seed. The blend is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay with Bollinger describing this vintage as “Concentration and Generosity”. Oak is a persistent theme in the 2015 vintage largely due to the barrels created from wood sourced from the 110-hectare family-owned forest in Favresse, Cuis.
The 2015 vintage was just released this past May, yet there I was in France, sitting beside a 6th generation Bollinger family member having my glass generously refilled without the batting of an eyelid. The phrase “We’re not in Kansas anymore Toto” springs to mind.
Our meal continued on with some extra special treats, alas dear reader I'm saving that for part two. The pleasures of Bollinger are simply too great to ge contained in one post. Stay tuned for the next glass!
What a dream come true! A magnum is always better than a bottle.