Champagne Bollinger from Herve Pennequin

Champagne Bollinger from Herve Pennequin - issued January 2006 from TASTEDONLINE

Bollinger is one of my favorite Champagne Houses, since a friend of mine, Didier Laurent, helped me to understand it better, back in 1990, when I was working in Champagne as a sommelier. On January 13th, 2006, my friends and I found a little time between our marathon Champagne tastings and the perspective of a fine dinner at the “Assiette Champenoise”.

We were staying at the “Hotel Casteljeanson” ANTHONY VERIFIE NOM EXACT, in Ay and decided to taste MORE Champagne. Why not, I ask you ? We requested a visit to Champagne Bollinger. After a warm, and informal, welcome by Christian Dennis, we were lead directly to the back of the offices, in the “Chaudes Terres” vineyard. I would like to share with you some, not so widely known, facts about Bollinger. Bollinger is one of the last family - owned Champagne Houses in its category. It is also the last Champagne House to employ a full time cooper. Furthermore, Bollinger is the only Champagne House to keep all their reserve wine, from the different vineyards, in magnums with a cork. Champagne Bollinger has the only pre-Phylloxera vineyard in Champagne, deserving of such recognition, and this is what I wish to inform you about.

Most of my friends know, by now, that I love great wines. I am not a label drinker, but my passion as a professional sommelier tempts me to try everything that is made from the grape. However, when I first had the privilege to taste the “Vieilles Vignes Françaises”, with Didier Laurent, I experienced a deep and humble feeling, facing a wine with such distinction.

But what is the “Vieilles Vignes Françaises”?

Until the end of the 19th Century, the French vineyards were still planted and cultivated “en foule” (aka “provinage”, aka “marcottage”), a system allowing for the self-regeneration of the plants by pushing a young branch into the soil and thus propagating a new vine. Since Phylloxera attacked the vineyards and the plants, the only solution has been to graft French vines onto American rootstocks. This method virtually excluded the use of the self-generating system, which does not graft onto an exterior rootstock.

Champagne Bollinger owns small plots of non – grafted vines, from which the “Vieilles Vignes Françaises” cuvee is made.

The cuvee was started, in 1969, when an English friend and great wine writer, Cyril Ray, came to visit Miss Bollinger. He was so impressed by the quality and uniqueness of the wine made from these plots, that he convinced her to bottled a special cuvee of the wine.

Until 2004, the Champagne “Vieilles Vignes Françaises” cuvee was made from 3 parcels : the “Chaudes Terres” (0.6 acres); the “Clos St Jacques” (0.5 acres); and the “Croix Rouge” (0.3 acres), all in Bouzy and all inexplicably untouched by Phylloxera. and is no longer part of the blend now. All three parcels are “miraculously” Phylloxera free.

The fact is that Phylloxera does not flourish in sandy soil, nor on high lying, very windy areas, in cool altitude. The only unsolvable mystery remains in that, here in this specific Champagne vineyard, conditions and the soil are essentially similar to that of the rest of the Champagne region. So there is no real or logical explanation as to why those plots of vineyards have survived in this particular area.

Only 2,500 to 3,000 bottles of the “Vieilles Vignes Françaises” are produced annually and then only in the greatest years.

These vineyards are planted uniquely with Pinot Noir. A couple of years are needed for the root to undergo its transformation and become a new vine, in soil which is quite often oxygenated. When you look at the vineyard, it resembles tiny mounds of so many small hills from where the vines will emerge. The vineyard does not appear either well managed or well controlled, it seems relatively crowded and uneven.

This makes the mechanization of these vineyards impossible and increases the labor, which in turn augments the production cost by 250 – 300%, with a yield of at least 35% less than a drastically monitored and selective modern vineyard.

The wine ferments in small 225 liters oak barrels of at least 4 years of use, to avoid the wood flavors from overwhelming the natural, fine flavors of the Pinot Noir from these non-grafted vines. Consequently, the wine ages for a minimum of 5 years in the cellars, on their lees, under cork pressure, prior to disgorgement. You can imagine how exceptional the wine can taste, not only because of the tremendous quality of the wine, but also because of the memories provoked by tasting a wine made through traditional methods that do not exist nowadays.

I have been very fortunate to taste a few vintages of the “Vieilles Vignes Françaises” and they all show a gold color with the slightest hint of a tinge of color – in fact, a mere shade (from the Pinot Noir skin), the bubbles are so fine, regular with a “cordon”, ring that lingers forever in your glass. The extraction of aromas, reminiscent of spices, black teas, toast breads, black fruits, and truffle is so long and so complex that it inevitably marks ones memory. The palate develops and shows another expression, which is tremendously long lasting, rich, concentrated with intense flavors and a wonderful touch of those bubbles, popping with elegance and power at the same time. The duration of the persistence is such that ones senses continue to tingle well after finishing the sip.

Ladies and gentlemen, if you have not experienced the “Vieilles Vignes Françaises”, please try, if only once… Follow my advice, start by enjoying the “Special Cuvee Brut”, then the “Grande Année”, before moving on to taste the “R.D.” (Aka “Recently Disgorged”), in order to really appreciate what Bollinger is capable of producing. Then, when the time comes to discover the “Vieilles Vignes Françaises”, you will truly appreciate the beauty in its perfection.