BOLLINGER

Bollinger’s return to form continues. The oxidative style is present and correct, yet its character now comes (as it did historically) from its oak fermentation instead of oxidation from a lack of protection at disgorgement. The nose offers an overt bouquet of ripe pear with nutty overtones. The vanilla spice of oak is also present. On the palate, the firmness of the fruit is spliced with juicy apricots. Possessed with dazzling chalky acidity, this champagne retains a degree of crispness and the dry extract on the finish indicates a long life ahead. Drink from 2026-2038. Tasted: October 2023. Drinking range: 2026 - 2038 Rating: **** Steve Pritchard, Inside Burgundy (May 2024)

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 - The Champagne Guide (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)