Champagne Bollinger

La Grande Année Rosé 2014

Champagne, France

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A rosé version of La Grande Année is also made in certain vintages. Lily Bollinger agreed to a Bollinger rosé under one condition, it had to be extraordinary, and that is how La Grande Année Rosé was born: the subtle blend between a great vintage champagne and aa small percentage of red wine from one of the House’s emblematic vineyards , La Côte Aux Enfants, located in the village of Aÿ. This plot of Grand Cru is only used for red wine when the grapes are perfectly ripe. To produce a red wine of such high quality in the Champagne region is a challenge: a rare treat, a testament to the House’s expertise in Pinot Noir.

Reflecting its land and its traditional wine making methods, La Grande Année Rosé is famous for its promise of exceptional aging qualities which makes it a great wine for cellaring. The richness of this wine is expressed by a deep colour, perfectly balanced aromas and a lovely vinosity.

 

Vineyard

La Grande Année Rosé is another expression of La Grande Année, Champagne Bollinger’s prestige cuvée, made exclusively from Grand and Premier crus. Red wine for blending comes from one of the House’s emblematic vineyards, La Côte Aux Enfants, located in the village of Aÿ. This plot of Grand cru is only used for red when the grapes are perfectly ripe. To produce a red wine of such high quality in the Champagne region is a challenge: a rare treat, a testament to the House’s expertise in Pinot Noir. For the whole blend, 95% of the fruit was sourced from Grand Cru villages and 5% from Premier Cru villages. The Pinot Noir, 63% of the blend, comes predominantly from Äy and Verzenay, the Chardonnay, 37% of the blend, from Chouilly and Oiry.

Additionally, Bollinger was accredited with a “High Environmental Value” certification in 2012 (more here).

Winemaking

Reflecting its land and its traditional wine making methods, La Grande Année Rosé is famous for its promise of exceptional aging qualities which makes it a great wine for cellaring. The richness of this wine is expressed by a deep color, perfectly balanced aromas and a lovely vinosity.

La Grande Année Rosé is the unique blend between a great vintage Champagne and a red wine from a unique plot, the legendary Côte aux Enfants. The 2014 is a blend of 63% Pinot Noir and 37% Chardonnay, from a total of 21 crus.

The blend is vinified entirely in older oak barrels, and undergoes its second fermentation under cork, rather than on crown capsule. 5% of still red wine from the Côte aux Enfants vineyard is added. The wine spent approximately 8 years on the lees, and has a dosage of 8 grams per liter.

Vintage

2014 marked an exceptional year: After the sunniest June in 50 years, which resulted in a fairly early flowering, the months of July, and August in particular, were the coldest for almost 50 years. The two largest Bollinger vineyards – Aÿ et Verzenay – began harvesting five days after the official opening dates. All Bollinger vineyards began harvesting on the same day, the 15th of September. The quality of the grape was definitely there; the acidity was preserved by the cold summer, and parasites were kept at bay by a bright September, which allowed a beautiful maturity. There was a great balance achieved between maturity and acidity in the grape musts.

Tasting Note

A real mosaic of fruit: aromas of raspberry, wild strawberries, cherries, etc. Notes of peach and quince complete this fruity bouquet. This wine is characterised by its creamy effervescence, splendid volume in the mouth and long aromatic persistence. Its wonderful acidity and sea-air characteristics appear alongside flavors of orchard fruits and berries.

Food Pairing

Bollinger is often considered the ultimate food pairing Champagne, and La Grande Année Rosé 2014 is no exception. This wine pairs beautifully with duck breasts filets, quail, guinea fowl or venison sauce Grand Veneru. It serves as a great enhancement to oriental cuisines, and complements rhubarb or red berry crumble beautifully.

Color

Rose

Grape Varieties

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

Appellation

Champagne, France

Farming

Champagne Bollinger supports sustainable wine growing by grassing over the ground, using biological pest control, reducing the use of herbicides, recycling pruning waste, and planting hedges and orchards to encourage biodiversity. The Côte aux Enfants vineyard is managed organically.

Suggested Retail Price

$275.00

Reviews

Full of energy

Vinous - March 8, 2022

"The 2014 La Grande Année Rosé is airy, gracious and full of energy. Crushed rocks, white pepper, red berry, mint and blood orange lend striking aromatic intensity and presence." - AG

A broad, vinous Champagne

Wine Advocate - March 8, 2022

"Disgorged with eight grams per liter dosage, Bollinger's 2014 Brut La Grande Année Rosé wafts from the glass with aromas of tangerine oil, red berries, warm biscuits and English walnuts. Full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, it's a broad, vinous Champagne, with a deep core of fruit and racy acids, complemented by a delicate pinpoint mousse and concluding with delicate and enlivening phenolic grip on the finish." -WK

"Lush flavors and texture"

Wine Spectator - April 6, 2022

"This graceful rosé Champagne has a lovely, creamy viscosity, enfolding aromas and flavors of ripe apricot and plum fruit, toasted almond, tea rose, dried mint and pickled ginger. This version's lush flavors and texture are well-meshed with and enlivened by a firm streak of racy acidity, with a chalky underpinning emerging to drive the finish." -A.N 4/22

"Touches of Toast"

Wine Enthusiast - June 29, 2022

Cellar Selection

"After eight years from harvest, this Champagne is beautifully balanced. Touches of toast and a rounded texture still are lifted by the taut, minerality and complexity. This is an impressive wine with a long, lingering, memorable aftertaste that will age further."—R.V.

 

"Golden Orchard fruit"

Jeb Dunnuck (96+) - November 8, 2022

"Consisting of 63% Pinot Noir and the rest Chardonnay, with 6% still wine from Côte Aux Enfants, the 2014 Champagne La Grande Année Brut Rosé is more expressive now and jumps out of the glass with fresh toasted brioche, apricot, wild raspberry, and orange custard. The palate is rounded and precise, with the spine and tension expressive of the cool vintage, followed by notes of golden orchard fruit, currant, and fresh salinity. This is showing well right now and is hard to resist, although it will certainly improve over the next 10 to 20 years. Disgorged March of 2022."—A.F 11/22

 

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