Bollinger - La Grande Année Rosé 2018

Robert Parker Wine Advocate om Boliinger

Bollinger stands out as one of the most able large houses, continuing to deliver some of the greatest experiences with mature Champagne to those fortunate enough to have such bottles in their cellars—even if a certain degree of bottle variation, linked to storage conditions and the resilience of the cork, is naturally to be expected. 

The recently released 2018s confirm that Bollinger remains a dependable source largely irrespective of vintage. While many wines from this sunny and abundant year exhibit comparatively soft, moderately concentrated profiles, Bollinger’s La Grande Année and La Grande Année Rosé—produced from balanced yields in the context of Champagne’s broader averages—are not among them, even if they present themselves, unsurprisingly, with a broader and more succulent profile than the racy, fine-boned renditions delivered by the 2014 and 2008 vintages. As for the tasting itself, these first impressions are developed in greater detail in the accompanying notes.

As readers will recall, Bollinger owns 180 hectares of vines, accounting for roughly 40% of the grapes used in its production. Of these, 110 hectares are managed directly by the house and have been certified organic since late 2025, making 2016 the first organic harvest. It bears repeating that Bollinger fully eliminated the use of herbicides in 2016, an initiative that began in 2009 with the desire to rehabilitate its emblematic vineyards, Vieilles Vignes Françaises and La Côte aux Enfants, and which gradually expanded to encompass all of their holdings.

Contrary to some misconceptions, La Côte aux Enfants today is not solely dedicated to Champagne production: still red wine under the Coteaux Champenois designation continues to be made from this site. However, it’s important to distinguish between the two: the Coteaux Champenois is crafted from grapes grown on the vineyard’s south-facing slope, whereas the fruit destined for Champagne comes from the northwest-facing side. This Aÿ vineyard spans four hectares, evenly split between still red and sparkling wine production, and is notable for its formidable 39% gradient—so steep one might imagine it better suited for skiing—and its shallow topsoil, consisting of just 30 centimeters of clay-limestone with high percentages of active calcium. The slope is maintained with cover crops to minimize erosion. Stylistically, the Champagnes from La Côte aux Enfants are finer-boned and more tensile, defined by purity as much as power, especially when contrasted with the ample and textural Pinot Noir series and the dramatic and intensely flavored Vieilles Vignes Françaises.

Turning to Vieilles Vignes Françaises, this bottling today originates from two walled parcels of ungrafted Pinot Noir—Clos Saint-Jacques and Clos Chaudes-Terres—both situated adjacent to the Bollinger house. These plots were replanted in the 1970s using massal selections from Aÿ, meaning the vines should not be mistaken for remnants of the pre-phylloxera era. While the soils here are not sandy—a feature that aided vine survival in certain other Champagne sites—it is possibly the protective walls of these vineyards that have thus far shielded them from infiltration of phylloxera, the insect that ravaged vine roots throughout most of Europe. The recently released 2016 rendition—harvested at a relatively modest 10.2% potential alcohol—marries the Pinot Noir richness and old-vine concentration with the freshness of the growing season, taming some of the Vieilles Vignes Françaises’ characteristic exuberance.

Beyond the vineyards, Bollinger is also investing in its winery. In anticipation of its bicentennial in 2029, the estate is currently undergoing significant upgrades and has just completed a building dedicated to housing what is now one of the largest barrel stocks in Champagne, distributed across three units, each arranged over three levels. Their already extensive collection of oak vessels is now set to expand to some 5,000 barrels, which, as readers will know by now, are used to ferment Pinot Noir and Chardonnay sourced exclusively from vineyards designated as premier and grand cru.

While Bollinger has long employed an in-house cooper—responsible for maintaining its 228-liter barrels until they reach approximately 40 years of age and its 410-liter barrels until they approach 100 years—since 2019 the house has also begun producing a small number of its own barrels from oak sourced from the family-owned forest in Cuis. The majority of this extensive inventory, however, continues to be supplemented with second-hand barrels acquired from Burgundy.

In the winery, to mitigate the oxidative tendencies of Pinot Noir—a variety that is always an important component at this address—oxygen exposure is managed with increasing precision, through measures such as fewer rackings, limiting filtration to a single instance and employing jetting at disgorgement—all while avoiding an excessive reliance on sulfur dioxide.