View photos

Champagne Bollinger

La Grande Année 2015

Champagne

Download Listen

Bollinger’s prestige  cuvée is the vintage-dated La Grande Année, made of roughly two-thirds Pinot Noir and one-third Chardonnay. It is produced only when the harvest reaches a perfect balance. This wine ferments entirely in oak barrels, and undergoes its second fermentation under cork instead of crown capsules. It’s filled with aromas of honey, gingerbread and cinnamon, and offers a core of pastry and candied orange flavors on the palate.

In 1976, Bollinger Vintage became Grande Année; then, in 1997, “La” Grande Année, a name simple enough to illustrate its exceptional status. This prestige cuvée made its silver screen debut two years later, in James Bond’s Casino Royale.

 

 

Vineyard

The fruit was sourced from 11 Grand Cru and Premier Cru villages. The Pinot Noir, 60% of the blend, comes predominantly from Äy and Verzenay, and Mareuil-sur Aÿ. The Chardonnay, 40% of the blend, came from Chouilly and Avize.
Additionally, Bollinger was accredited with a “High Environmental Value” certification in 2012 (more here).

Winemaking

La Grande Année is vinified entirely in older oak barrels, specifically used 228 liter barrels and 400 liter casks that are up to 40 years old. The wine remains in barrel for 6 months, undergoing both alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in barrel, a point of distinction from the minute remaining producers who do ferment in barrel. The wine is then bottled under cork to undergo its secondary fermentation, rather than crown capsule. As a result, every bottle has to be hand-riddled and hand-disgorged. The wine spent about 7 years on the lees, and has a moderate dosage of 8 grams per liter. Needless to say, this is not an efficient way to produce Champagne. Quality is the only objective.

Vintage

After steady rainfall early in the summer, warm, dry temperatures prevailed in August and September; especially outstanding Pinot Noir across the region.

Tasting Note

Initial scents are full of small stone fruits, with notes of Pomme Gris, plum and Mirabelle plum, layered with a touch of honey. Aromas of blackberry, blackcurrant, cherry, and raspberry follow; a medley of red fruits dances with notes of almond. Exotic touches of mango follow, dissolving into tertiary scents of vanilla and a delicate woody aroma. On the palate the wine is plump, generous and enticing, reminiscent of Mirabelle plum jam. Texture and richness define the tasting experience. The finish blends notes of chocolate and citrus fruits, bringing a touch of acidity, lengthened further by hints of schist. A hugely generous wine!

Food Pairing

La Grande Année 2015 is the perfect Champagne to serve with a fine meal, underscoring Bollinger’s reputation as the ultimate food pairing Champagne. The Champagne shines when enjoyed with pan fried foie gras with caramelized apple, magret de canard with raspberry and cranberry sauce, cantal, créme chocolat, raspberry and anise.

Color

White

Grape Varieties

Chardonnay, Pinot Noir

Appellation

Champagne

Farming

Sustainable farming practices include biological pest control, reducing the use of herbicides, recycling pruning waste and planting hedges/orchards to encourage biodiversity.

Alcohol

12.0%

Suggested Retail Price

$268.00

Reviews

96

Vinous - March 22, 2024

96

James Suckling - April 12, 2024

96

Wine Spectator - September 25, 2024 "This expressive Champagne features a rich, well-spiced range of flavors chiseled by well-honed, integrated acidity, which lends a racy feel to the ripe black cherry and mulberry fruit and notes of salted almond, pink grapefruit granita, crystallized honey and pickled ginger that ride the raw silk–like mousse. Hints of chalk and spring blossoms play on the clean-cut, lasting finish."

More on Champagne Bollinger La Grande Année 2015

View all

Bollinger La Grande Année 2015 Launches in the U.S

April 12, 2024 - This week marked the unveiling of Bollinger's La Grande Année and La Grande Année Rose from the 2015 vintage.  Cellarmaster Denis Bunner says, of the wine, "2015 expresses more of…

Best Gifts for Wine Lovers

April 12, 2024 - Pursuitist included Champagne AYALA A/18 and Champagne Bollinger La Grande Année 2015 in its article, "Best Gifts for Wine Lovers." The story includes a selection of gifts that will be…

Trade Materials

View all

Champagne Bollinger La Grande Année Bottle Shot

Other Wines by this Producer

View all

La Côte aux Enfants Champagne

Champagne, France

Established by Jacques Bollinger between 1926 and 1934, La Côte aux Enfants is a steep hillside vineyard located on the outskirts of Aÿ.  This unique parcel has been a source of endless fascination, producing some of the most highly prized Pinot Noir in the region. Aware of its potential, it became Champagne Bollinger’s ambition to produce a great vintage Champagne exclusively from this vineyard, with 100% Pinot Noir. The fruit comes from the north-west side of the hill, revealing a particularly refined expression of La Côte aux Enfants vineyard.

B13

Champagne, France

B13 stands for ‘Bollinger 2013’ as showcased by the unique logotype that both resembles the letter ‘B’ and the number ‘13’. This limited edition Blanc de Noirs from the 2013 vintage is characterized by its freshness and precision, and is composed of 100% Pinot Noir, predominantly from Bollinger’s ancestral home of Äy.

PN

Champagne, France

PN, made entirely from Pinot Noir to underscore the very essence and DNA of the House style, is the first new cuvée added to Bollinger’s permanent range since rosé in 2008. Each release of PN, developed as a series to bring Bollinger’s unique vision of Pinot Noir to light, will showcase a different cru from the base year that highlights its distinctive terroir and taste.

James Bond Limited Edition

Champagne, France

This limited edition cuvée celebrates 2 important milestones. Firstly, it celebrates the historic partnership between Bollinger and Bond. Bollinger has been the exclusive Champagne partner of Bond since 1979, so 2019 marks the 40th anniversary of their relationship. Secondly, it celebrates the release of the upcoming movie, No Time to Die, which will be the 25th movie in the series (and Bollinger’s 15th Bond movie since the start of the partnership).

Vieilles Vignes Françaises

Champagne, France

Vieilles Vignes Françaises is one of Champagne’s most mythical cuvees, produced from miraculously preserved and ungrafted 100% Pinot Noir vines. Phylloxera destroyed the vines of Champagne in the early 20th century, but amazingly enough two of Bollinger’s classified Grands crus plots, Chaudes Terres and Clos St. Jacques, survived and are still grown the traditional way. Madame Lily Bollinger first had this wine produced in 1969 as an anniversary cuvee to commemorate her 70th birthday. Following the wine’s launch in 1974, Vieilles Vignes Françaises promptly became a collectible and a symbol of a bygone era. Over the decades, its uniqueness and scarcity have made it one of the most sought-after and expensive Champagnes.

La Côte aux Enfants

Champagne, France

A stunning and extremely rare, still red wine produced only for the greatest vintages. This wine harmoniously combines 100% Pinot Noir Grand Cru fruit from an exceptional vineyard with traditional Burgundian style winemaking. Historically, Pinot Noirs from Aÿ were the most popular wines of the French court, specifically a favorite of King Henri IV, and La Côte aux Enfants comes from a steep plot just outside of the village. This wine is the purest expression of Pinot Noir, offering a fine, delicate texture in the mouth, and a tautness giving it a beautifully long finish.

La Grande Année Rosé

Champagne, France

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. A blend like no other, the wine is as an extension to the House's prestige cuvée, La Grande Année, as is the subtle marriage between this great vintage Champagne and the addition of red wine from a unique plot, the legendary Côte aux Enfants.

R.D.

Champagne, France

A small revolution in the world of Champagne. In 1967, Bollinger releases R.D. 1952.  There is no comparable Champagne on the market at the time. This bold and brilliant Champagne takes the pillars of what makes Champagne Bollinger so unique, and pushes them to their ultimate level. It is, very simply, a masterpiece.

Special Cuvée

Champagne, France

From vineyard to bottling, Special Cuvée sees such an extraordinary level of care and attention, it is difficult to place within the non-vintage or, really, any Champagne category. It is a Champagne that stands apart.  Within one bottle, all the complexity of flavor, texture and pleasure that Champagne can offer.  Special Cuvée is truly a journey of devotion from Bollinger.

Rosé

Champagne, France

In the same way that Special Cuvée stands apart from non-vintage Champagnes, Bollinger Rosé is an exception for Rosé Champagnes. What is more, it is a relative secret, as Bollinger did not release a non-vintage Rosé until 2008 and the quantity produced is quite limited. The wine begins as Special Cuvée and then Bollinger's specialty as the Pinot Noir producer in Champagne takes center stage, as the red fruits that join the conversation dance vibrantly, the finish has just a hint of perfectly ripe tannin, and the deep complexity of the wine shines through transparently.