La Grande Année, 2008
La Grande Annee is made in select vintages exclusively from Grands and Premiers Crus. Initial fermentation is carried out entirely in old oak barrels and after secondary fermentation in bottle the wine spends a minimum of 6 years on its lees. The 2002 is comes from 23 different vineyard plots, 71% of which are Grand Cru and 29% Premier Cru, and is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay.
critic reviews
Bollinger's 2008 Grande Année is rich, ample and full-bodied, with all of the pedigree of the vintage on display. Dried pear, dried flowers, chamomile, red plum and mint develop as the 2008 shows the breadth and creaminess that are such signatures of the Bollinger house style. A whole range of brighter, more floral and chalky notes appear later, adding translucence and energy. The 2008 is 71% Pinot Noir and 29% Chardonnay taken across 18 crus, and it is the Pinot that very much informs the wine in both flavor and texture. More importantly, the 2008 is one of the best Grande Années I can remember tasting. Bollinger fans won't want to miss it. Disgorged November 2018. Dosage is 8 grams per liter.
Bollinger's 2008 La Grande Annee is superb, wafting from the glass with aromas of crisp orchard fruit, ripe lemons, honeycomb, warm biscuits, dried white flowers and a delicate top note of walnuts and fino sherry. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, broad and vinous, with a beautifully refined mousse, superb concentration at the tightly wound core, incisive acids and a supremely elegant intermingling of Bollinger's oxidative stylistic signatures with fresh, vibrant fruit. The finish is long, precise and chalky. This is a Grande Annee built for the cellarthe real excitement will come with a bit more bottle agebut this is already a thrilling Champagne in the making. Finished with eight grams per liter dosage, it was disgorged by hand in July 2018. This is also the first vintage of Grande Annee to be bottled in Bollinger's new narrower-necked 1846 bottle, which should make for a slower evolving wine.