BOLLINGER

65% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay; 78% grand crus, 22% premier crus; 21 crus, mainly Aÿ and Verzenay for Pinot Noir, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oiry for Chardonnay; exclusive use of the cuvée; fermented entirely in barrels (average 20 years of age); aged under natural cork; riddled and disgorged by hand; 8g/L dosage; disgorged August 2019. The bombastic complexity that defines Bollinger rises to a grand and flamboyant crescendo in the mighty 2012 season. True to the vintage, it presents a medium straw hue, deeper in colour, tone and mood than the dynamic 2008 before it. The pure red and black cherries of ripe pinot noir from the grand slopes of Aÿ are masterfully toned by the perfume and energy of the north-east-facing hillside of Verzenay, backed by the citrus zest of Le Mesnil and Oiry chardonnay. It’s simultaneously ripe, juicy, zesty and tense, with fruit presence of tantalising beauty seamlessly fused with fine chalk minerality and an acid line of sensational drive, yet at every moment perfectly ripe and effortlessly integrated. Fruit rightly takes a confident lead here, with the fig, spice, honey and roast almond of barrel fermentation and bottle age welling up in a rising background chorus. The modern era of Bollinger’s attentiveness in the vineyards and cellar characterises a style ever more pure and seamless. This does nothing to diminish the multifaceted layers of signature Bollinger complexity. Indeed, it somehow manages to achieve precisely the opposite, magnifying and focusing its myriad details with greater clarity than ever. This serves to present the mood of the season with more articulate typicity than ever, while celebrating all of the rumbling depth and power that we love of Bollinger. While it won’t live as long as the enduring 2008 (no house will) it achieves equal heights of fantastic line and incredible length. The result is consummately 2012, emphatically Bollinger and gloriously, irresistibly delicious. Rating: 98 Tyson Stelzer - TysonStelzer.com (Dec 2020)

The 2012 Grande Année is vibrant and wonderfully nuanced. Citrus peel, orchard fruit, brioche, dried flowers and chamomile are all finely knit in a Grand Année built on energy and persistence more than size. Readers will find a restrained Grand Année in 2012. There is plenty of the textural richness that is such a signature of the house style, but I am also struck by the wine's freshness. Best of all, the 2012 will drink well right out of the gate. It is quite expressive today, even in the early going. (Originally published in August 2020). Drinking range: 2020 - 2030 Rating: 94 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Nov 2020)

Wine Spectator's wine No. 10 of the year 2020.
Founded in 1829, Bollinger is one of Champagne’s few remaining grandes marques that’s entirely family-owned. Cellar master Gilles Descôtes was elevated to head winemaker in 2013. He blended the 2012 La Grande Année, a racy version that doesn’t hold back, deftly pairing an intense spine of acidity with an expressive range of flavors offered by the two-thirds Pinot Noir, one-third Chardonnay blend, sourced from premiers and grands crus vineyards. Following tradition, primary fermentation occurred in a mixture of 228- and 400-liter, neutral oak barrels. After blending and bottling for secondary fermentation, the 2012 aged in Bollinger’s cellars for six years before disgorgement in 2019.

This goes from zero to 60 right out of the gate, with an intense spine of acidity driving tightly meshed flavors of crushed black currant, ground coffee, candied grapefruit peel and toasted almond. The profile expands on the palate, carried by the fine, raw silk–like mousse. Richly aromatic and expressive from start to lasting, spiced finish. Disgorged July 2019. Drink now through 2037. Drinking range: 2020 - 2037 Rating: 97 Alison Napjus, The Wine Spectator (Nov 2020)

I love the magical moment when I get the chance, as the first journalist, to lighten the cork of the latest vintage of Bollinger La Grande Année…….The wine is made from 21 villages with Aÿ and Verzenay in the driver's seat backed by elegance from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oiry. The wine is characterized by vitality and energy more than depth at present. The color has a brilliant golden glow and the mousse is almost panting in its resilient youthfulness. The scent is beautifully house typical, dominated by apricot, almond, hazelnut and a smoky sophisticated intensity as from a newly lit outdoor fire. The attack is stunningly intense and the weight in the mouth leaves nothing left to wish for. Resilient energy and fullness are combined with greatness. Anyone who has patience will be rewarded with truffled flavor layers, chocolate saturated complexity and added exoticism of honeysuckle in the wine's bouquet. Rating: 95 Richard Juhlin (Feb 2020)

65% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay, from 21 crus, but mainly Aÿ and Verzeney for the Pinot Noir and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oiry for the Chardonnay. Entirely fermented in oak barrels and aged for twice the time required by the AOC rules, it was finished with a moderate dosage of 8gr/l.Winemaker's notes (Feb 2020)