The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.
News
"The 2009 La Cote aux Enfants, Bollinger’s Coteaux Champenois, is stunningly beautiful in this vintage. Layers of warm, radiant fruit emerge gracefully from this elegant, sublime Pinot. The wine’s balance and its potential are both first rate."
91-94 Points Wine Advocate
Wine Description
The Story
Champagne Bollinger has understood the multiple profiles of La Côte aux Enfants in Aÿ, a legendary terroir established with great perseverance by the Jacques Bollinger himself between 1926 and 1934.
La Côte aux Enfants Champagne, the first cuvée from a Bollinger's single plot, offers wine enthusiasts an experience
truly unprecedented tasting experience. In this unique terroir Bollinger has chosen a single varietal, Pinot Noir, through which he has sought to reach the highest peak.
The experience becomes even more unique considering that compared to the rules of the appellation, the wine has stood on the bouchon liege twice as long.
La Côte aux Enfants Coteaux Champenois is a rarity in Champagne – a still red wine made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes from a legendary plot in Äy. Aged for 8 months in small oak barrels and released only in top vintages, it is surprisingly concentrated and powerful.
Wine Information
THE PUREST EXPRESSION OF PINOT NOIR,
BY BOLLINGER
A great red wine from the legendary Aÿ plot: a pure Pinot Noir, the combination of an exceptional plot and a typical Burgundy highly skilled winemaking method. Very rare in Champagne country.
PRODUCTION
Blend: 100% Pinot Noir Grand cru from Aÿ
A very small production reserved for the greatest vintages
Aged for 8 months in small oak barrels
PAIRINGS
Veal in red wine sauce
Beef filet with shallots and red wine sauce
Poultry and duck
Tomme from Savoie, Brie from Meaux
OUR ADVICE
"La Côte aux Enfants 2009 is a wine destined to connoisseurs looking for Champagne Appellation specialties. This wine is surprisingly concentrated and powerful.
To fully appreciate its unique style, bouquet and aromas, La Côte aux Enfants 2009 is best served between 16 and 18°C.
You can enjoy La Côte aux Enfants 2009 within the next five years in order to fully appreciate the expression of its fruit, or choose to age it in your cellar for up to 8 years and enjoy different tasting sensations…"
Mathieu Kauffmann, Cellar Master
HISTORY
Champagne country originally owed its fame to its red wines. Favourites of King Henri IV, the Pinot Noirs from the town of Aÿ were the most popular wines of the French court. La Côte aux Enfants comes from a steep plot just outside Aÿ. Jacques Bollinger himself reconstituted it patiently, at the beginning of the 20th century, from over 50 differently owned plots! Today, Bollinger owns four adjacent hectares of the legendary plot. Since 2009, all vines grown there are organically farmed.
Vintage 2009
This warm year started with a cold winter and mild spring temperatures. Early summer was variable but August and September provided ample sunshine and warmth contributing to fine grape health. Pinot Noir especially excelled. Grape harvest, of generally high sugar content yet soft acidity, started on September 8th. 2009 is a year of generous wines that showed well early. An apt example of a vintage of the recent era, in which retaining freshness poses more problems than attaining ripeness. Good grape health contributed to the overall quality, and despite the richness of the wines, heaviness did not end up being an issue. There is quite some heterogenity amongst the year's produce but the best seem truly age-worthy. The vintage's finest include Louis Roederer Cristal and Cristal Rosé, Dom Pérignon and Philipponnat Clos des Goisses.
