Bollinger La Cote aux Enfants Vintage 2014 (100% Pinot Noir) 75 cl. in wooden box

Champagne Bollinger owns an impressive 178 hectares of vineyards, 85% of which are located in Grand Cru and Premier Cru villages. Their land is spread across seven main villages: Aÿ, Avenay, Louvois, Tauxières and Verzenay planted with Pinot Noir; Cuis with Chardonnay; and Champvoisy with Meunier. Bollinger is one of the few wine houses that produces the majority of their own grapes for their blends. Pinot Noir represents 60% of the house’s vineyards and defines the house’s style: complex and powerful with a remarkable structure. In 2012, Champagne Bollinger was certified with High Environmental Value (HEV), a certification that rewards a series of environmental procedures implemented at the house.

La Cote aux Enfants is a 4-hectare steep-sided vineyard established by Jacques Bollinger between 1926 and 1934, where he acquired over 50 plots from many owners and planted exclusively with Pinot Noir. This historic piece of land has two defining features: the southern slope, which is vinified as a still red wine, and the northwestern slope, which was previously the hidden side of the vineyard, used exclusively for blending the blend in La Grande Année Rosé. Since 2012, the northwest-facing slope has provided the grapes for the new champagne Bollinger La Cote aux Enfants Champagne.

Weather: 2014 was characterised by mild temperatures and frequent rainfall, as well as a few weeks of high temperatures, a very solid vintage with good ripeness and acidity. Flowering began in June and the summer was a combination of dry, wet and cold periods. Some regions experienced diseases and Meunier in the Marne Valley did not have a good year and some of the Pinot Noir with its thinner skin made it more difficult for the red grapes. The harvest took place from 8 to 20 September. A year in which it was necessary to select the red grapes carefully to maintain a high quality. In general, Chardonnay is the star of the vintage.

Technical information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand Cru | Aÿ: La Cote aux Enfants
Grape varieties: 100% Pinot Noir
The lees are aged: 8 years
Disgorgement: March 2023
Dosage: 6 g/l
Fermentation: 100% small, old oak barrels.
Production: 3,300 bottles
Drink: Now to 2036+

Tasting Notes: The full-bodied nose exudes Pinot power with its stylishly charred vanilla, almond, pastry and toffee notes. Silky is the primary description of the wine's impressively vinous and smooth texture. Intensely fruity, yet there is still a refreshing sense of lightness and freshness in this tense and compact wine. The tamed phenols have a firming effect on the long-lasting finish, where sweet pastry and honey notes continue. - Tasted by Essi Avellan MW