Bollinger Treasures
During a couple of rainy days at the end of June, we were a small select group of international champagne journalists who was invited to Bollinger to take part in something quite unique. The first night I ended up alone in an old nostalgia awakening restaurant in Reims overlooking the park where my interest in champagne started with a bottle of Bollinger Special Cuvée 30 years ago. I sat there and dreamed myself away over a bottle of Echezeaux accompanied by foie gras and entrecote while the rain flooded the streets outside.
The next morning we were picked up and driven to Aÿ. I sat myself next to my former mentor and motivator, the ever-vital and elegant queen of champagne - Serena Sutcliffe. Between us we shared what life brought us during the last 10 years. We certainly agreed that this would be mightily exciting because she, in recent years and I never, had tasted any old wines at all from Bollinger in the house's auspices.
Over the last three years, the house has secretly pursued a gigantic inventory of every corner in the cellars. It was decided back in 2010, when they found a forgotten cellar with extremely old bottles, to renovate every single bottle in the form of disgorging and cork replacements, etc. The modern technology of laser aphrometer designed to measure the pressure in the bottles without opening them has been the key to success at work.
In the forgotten cellar behind huge amounts of empty bottles they succeeded to find vintages down to the historical inception in 1830 from the foundation of the house in 1829. At the end of this fantastic project they had secured 4,000 bottles. Most bottles were disgorged a la Volée and tasted separately. Bollinger have now created two unique vinoteque galleries - 1829 and La Réserve. T
The new chef de caves Gilles Descôtes, who led the project, showed us around in the two very impressive cellars. The cellar La Réserve shows something even more unique. Because Bollinger is making its standard cuvée from the amazing collection of reserve wines, stored in magnums under light pressure, they have separate crus in a gigantic amount of vintages to follow. The entire 3000 magnum´s are located in the beautiful and by artist´s ornamented cellar aisle. It was with a slight weakness in the knees of anticipation we sat down at the table to get a taste of what the cellars had to offer. We would never had expected that we would get to taste the top wines Bollinger ever made. To get them served in the best condition made of course the experience even more magical. Here are my taste notes from the historic tasting in Aÿ.
1969 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Francaises Collection 99p
100% PN
I just needed to dip my nose for a second before I realized what wine it was. Here you are met by a blast of smells with an equally unmistakable as indescribable crystal clear identity. The volume is huge, but the wine is extremely fresh and acidic thanks to vintage. The aromatic spectrum is ranging from jasmine, passion fruit, sea buckthorn, licorice toffee, black olives, tar and charcoal grilled meat. A perfect bottle from the debut year.
1952 Bollinger RD Collection 97p
75% PN, 25% CH
Disgorged for Madame Bollinger´s private cellar in 1969 with 11 grams of sugar. A great depth and at the same time vitality charming with a creamy silkiness. Notes of freshly baked bread, dried fruits and caramel confide the chord.
1945 Bollinger Collection 97p
75% PN 25% CH
Disgorged for Madame Bollinger´s private cellar in 1969. Not as dark and truffle-scented as bottles I previously encountered on the open market. There is a depth and a classic tight construction with a dry basis. Minerals, smoke and spicy funds dominate the overall impression.
1937 Bollinger Collection 99p
75% PN, 25% CH
Disgorged for Madame Bollinger´s private cellar in 1969. Fantastic and impressive with juicy nectar notes, oily texture and a quite vibrant color and mousse. Young style with deep concentration and voluptuous overtones. A wonderful beauty filled with the most you can associate to in a champagne.
1924 Bollinger Collection 96p
80% PN, 20% CH
Disgorged for Madame Bollinger´s private cellar in 1969. I had never before beheld a 1924, so it was no wonder I guessed on a 1929 when we got to try the delightful treasures directly at the house in Ay. Something lighter than the greatest vintages of Bollinger but still mightily impressive. Hazelnut notes, popcorn, mango, passion fruit and butterscotch take turns on leading the aroma spectrum into a long fresh aftertaste.
1914 Bollinger Collection 99p
75% PN, 25% CH
Disgorged for Madame Bollinger´s private cellar in 1969 and now in perfect condition at Bollinger. Made from across 23 crus with Bouzy as a main component of 18%. A startling bouquet. Golden light color and a long majestic taste that lasted for hours. Most impressive is the incredibly intense scent which in its complex creation contains diverse and at the same time nicely orchestrated ingredients such as; cardamom, lavender, lilac, vanilla, orange blossom, bergamot, Chinese tea and mandarin. Well thickened fat and at the same time a youthful champion. Probably the house's most outstanding vintage.
1830 Bollinger Collection 88p
80% PN, 20% CH
Disgorged 2016 without carbonic pressure and without any dosage. The first vintage Bollinger ever made and obviously a historical great experience to taste one of the 13 bottles that survived in good condition. However, I must point out that, considered objectively, that this wine appeared as the worst bottle the house picked up from the collection in June, 2016. Youthful color even though the bubbles were missing. Oxidative on the nose with great similarities with wine jaune or the finest sherry. Almonds, fallen fruit, figs, dates, and a fiercely refreshing acidity. Clean, very long and holds nicely in the glass. Lovely wine in its almost 200-year-developed style.
MY TOP 10 WINES
1. 1966 Dom Pérignon P3 Magnum 99, 5
Probably the most perfect champagne to drink in the world for the moment.
2. 1979 Krug Clos du Mesnil 99, 5
As good as ever.
3. 1985 Romanée-Conti 99,5
My only 100 point red wine was this masterpiece in Jeroboam with my friend Philip Ng in Singapore a few years ago. In regular bottle perhaps just a tiny bit less unreal but still the most perfect beautiful red wine there is.
4. 1988 Dom Pérignon Rosé P3 Magnum 99
The P3 concept is out of this world. Every single wine transforms into perfection with time under the wings of Richard Geoffroy. This magnum in Versailles and on the beach of Seine in full moon might be the best rosé I have ever drank.
5. 2006 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Francaises 98, 5
An exceptional and awesome wine drank on the most beautiful place in the world during my work with the book Champagne Hiking. The Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia.
6. 1981 Taittinger Comtes Champagne Vinothèque Magnum 98. 5
A perfect magnum that I got the honor of picking from the private Taittinger cellar with my VIP group at the Chateau Marquetterie in Pierry.
7. 1996 Cristal Rosé Vinothèque Magnum 98, 5
A perfect but youthful masterpiece in magnum served by Jean-Bapriste Lecaillon for my VIP group at Roederer private mansion in Reims.
8. 1969 La Tache 98, 5
Everything you dream about in a great bottle of Burgundy is here right now.
9. 1961 Chateau Petrus 98, 5
For the first time I tasted a perfect bottle of this super star wine this year at a private dinner in London.
10. Selosse Le Bout du Clos Ambonnay 98
Perhaps a bit to an emotional choice as it was my son Henrik`s first real Champagne Hiking with me. In full moon in fairy tail gem Hallstadt in Austria. Incredible volume and intensity.
My all time top 10 Champagnes
1 Pol Roger
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Pol Roger Grauves Vinothèque |
1928 |
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100p |
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Disgorged in July 1998. Ridiculously young! I'd heard that this wine was supposed to be exceptionally lively and pale, but I would never have been close in my guesses if it hadn't been served in the last round at Villa Pauli in 1999, where there were only oldies. The nose was fabulously, beautifully braided, with notes of lime, linden, and lily of the valley. The taste was super-fresh, with a wonderful oily fruitiness that lasted for several minutes. My second bottle of this “out of this world” wine had the same date of disgorging, so it was with a certain hesitation that I dared wait five years before releasing the cork. The wine was enjoyed at one of the most magical dinners in the history of Swedish gastronomy, at the Pontus in the Green House restaurant in Stockholm, March 2003. That evening we drank a 1986 Selosse, three legendary vintages of Bollinger, two phenomenal Dom Pérignon Rosés, a '61 Comtes de Champagne, Ramonet, Lafite, Romanée-Conti, Richebourg, Romanée-Saint-Vivant and a 1947 Cheval Blanc. The '28 swept the floor! The nose was so intense that I was moved to tears. Its already phenomenal bouquet of aromas had expanded further, with exotic notes of coconut, papaya, and mint chocolate. Somehow, this wine—on the very day we opened it—stood at the apex of its life it succeeded in uniting the '79 Krug Clos du Mesnil's acidic elegance with a '76 Comtes de Champagne's exoticism and a '38 Krug's mint notes. I must admit that—spoiled and pampered as I am—I didn't think that a wine could affect me so deeply as this wine did that evening. I am in love!
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2 Krug |
(Reims) |
Vintage |
Tested |
PN |
PM |
CH |
Score |
Pot. |
Krug |
1938 |
199403 |
57 |
16 |
27 |
99 |
99 |
A year that is almost completely forgotten, but which produced the most delicious Champagne I have ever drunk. It was a shock of the positive kind when the cork flew off at great speed, and I saw the bubbling drink with its clear, middle-aged color. The nose cannot be described with words, but it was very like the 1945 Mouton Rothschild, with its tremendously rich tone of mint chocolate. There were also layers of fruit and minerals, and the wine was chewy and huge, with a divinely minty, bready, and nectar-like basic taste. The finish was majestic, with a clear tone of truffles and aged wood, alongside the mint chocolate. Is the '28 even better?
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3 Philipponnat
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Vintage |
Tested |
PN |
PM |
CH |
Score |
Pot. |
Clos des Goisses Vinothèque |
1955 |
201201 |
70 |
0 |
30 |
99 |
99 |
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4 Krug |
(Reims) |
Vintage |
Tested |
PN |
PM |
CH |
Score |
Pot. |
Krug Clos du Mesnil |
1988 |
201511 |
0 |
0 |
100 |
99 |
99 |
A miracle of finesse mountain-stream-pure art when at its most subtle. Despite being only two points shy of absolute ripeness, I warn you that the wine is still very young and illusive. That I am delighted to the point of hearing angels sing is due to the delicate, subtle, spring-like beauty. Are birches more beautiful in bud or when they have just burst into leaf?
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5 Billecart-Salmon
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Vintage |
Tested |
PN |
PM |
CH |
Score |
Pot. |
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée N.F. Vinothèque |
1959 |
199906 |
60 |
0 |
40 |
99 |
99 |
It was very easy to find this '59 at a blind tasting with Antoine Billecart. No other vintage has such force. I find it hard to imagine anything better than a typical, monumental '59, perfectly combined with Billecart's uniquely subtle and mineral-rich, fresh house-style. Absolutely perfect Champagne in its category, with a smoky, honey-soft, extremely long taste of walnut, orange blossom, and honey. Afterward, I heard that Antoine's brother did not want Billecart-Salmon to contribute just any old bottle to the Millennium Tasting. You can guess what happened. It won!
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6 Krug |
(Reims) |
Vintage |
Tested |
PN |
PM |
CH |
Score |
Pot. |
Krug Clos du Mesnil |
1985 |
201511 |
0 |
0 |
100 |
99 |
99 |
The height of elegance! The '85 reminds me of the '79, but I wonder if this wine doesn't reach even greater peaks. What balance and indescribable finesse! Sadly it's rare these days that I become so awestruck by a wine that I go through an almost religious experience. This wonderful, lime-fruity Champagne with its polished butteriness and sparkling clarity succeeded in inducing that feeling three days in a row during a tour with Henri Krug in November, 1995. A full and perfect wine.
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7 Taittinger
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(Reims) |
Vintage |
Tested |
PN |
PM |
CH |
Score |
Pot. |
Comtes de Champagne |
1976 |
201506 |
0 |
0 |
100 |
99 |
99 |
This '76 was one of the Champagnes that sparked my obsession with the area and its wines. Never before have I tasted anything so exotic, fruity, and enjoyable. It still holds up very well, even if the character has changed a little. An enormous nose and taste of sweet lemons have now replaced the butteriness. These can be found in many mature Champagnes, but never as clearly as in the Comtes de Champagne '76. A classic milestone, and absolutely one of the ten Champagnes I would pick out for someone who doubts that Champagne can be really good and big. A champion in its class!
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8 Henriot
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(Reims) |
Vintage |
Tested |
PN |
PM |
CH |
Score |
Pot. |
Les Enchanteleurs Vinothèque |
1959 |
201103 |
40 |
0 |
60 |
99 |
99 |
One of the most magnificent wine experiences I have been through and probably the most delicious wine I had drunk in the last five years. Very reminiscent of Veuve Clicquot surreal 1955 vintage magnum. It has a spring-chirping sensual appropriation embedded in silk and caresses the soul as the sweetest love. While the wine is monumental and rich as a meal in itself. Another soulmate is actually the 1959 vintage from Billecart-Salmon who won the Millennium tasting..
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9 Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin
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(Reims) |
Vintage |
Tested |
PN |
PM |
CH |
Score |
Pot. |
Veuve Clicquot Extra Rare Vintage |
1955 |
200601 |
67 |
0 |
33 |
99 |
99 |
Only in magnum. Magically young and elegant. A perfect wine.
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10 Roederer, Louis
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(Reims) |
Vintage |
Tested |
PN |
PM |
CH |
Score |
Pot. |
Cristal |
1955 |
200203 |
55 |
0 |
45 |
99 |
99 |
During an incomparable evening at the restaurant Pontus in the Green House, we succeeded in picking out three basically perfect Champagnes in different styles. A beautifully floral and acidly austere 1961 Salon was the first on the stage, before a Latour-like 1914 Bollinger blew away any memory of the Salon bottle. Last but not least was this perfect charmer. Simply the most perfect, caramel-sated cuvée.
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MY TOP 10 WINES TASTED IN 2016
1 1914 Bollinger Collection 99 points
2 1979 Krug Clos du Mesnil 99 points
3 1988 Krug Clos du Mesnil 99 points
4 1969 Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Francaises Collection 99 points
5 1966 Dom Pérignon P3 (Magnum) 99 points
6 1979 Krug Clos du Mesnil 99 points
7 1937 Bollinger Collection 99 points
8 Cristal Rosé Vinothèque (Magnum) 99points
9 1976 Comtes de Champagne 98 points
10 1962 Chambertin Clos de Beze Rousseau 98 points
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