Bollinger La Grande Année 1996 |Vintage |1996

Name: Bollinger La Grande Année 1996
Brand: Bollinger
SKU: BOLLINGER-LGA-1996
Price: 890.0 AUD
Availability: InStock

Bollinger La Grande Année 1996

The House of Bollinger only produces vintage champagnes in exceptional years, when the grapes have reached a perfect quality and maturity with a perfect balance between the acids and sugars. Hence the denomination "Grande Année" given to this champagne which, unlike the "Special Cuvée", is only produced from grapes of that particular harvest.

The House of Bollinger only produces vintage champagnes in exceptional years, when the grapes have reached a perfect quality and maturity with a perfect balance between the acids and sugars. Hence the denomination "La Grande Année" given to this champagne which, unlike the "Special Cuvée", is only produced from grapes of that particular harvest.

What we think of it: an exceptional cuvée, with notes of orange west, cashew nuts and mushrooms. A very nice crisp acidity and a very fine, tingling mousse alongside the rather expansive flavours that match the nose, although they are very firmly packaged in by the beautiful, laser-precision structure of the wine. This is gorgeous, fresh, very typical of the Bollinger style, with a very long finish.

Sold as seen.

Why is Grande Année so special?

La Grande Année is the embodiment of the carefully preserved traditional expertise of the Bollinger Champagne House. The wine is therefore exclusively vinified in small aged oak barrels.

Champagne Bollinger has never abandoned this traditional craft method, which helps develop aromas of great finesse. After a prolonged ageing on its lees, even today every bottle of La Grande Année is riddled and disgorged by hand.

Club Price $845.50 (?) ?

Bollinger remain quite possibly one of the most famous family-owned champagne houses of all. Bollinger are well known for their dominance of the powerful and expressive pinot noir from Aÿ where they were founded, their use of magnums for production of all their wines and a traditional wine making style incorporating fermentation in oak barrels which they have never deviated from. They still have their own in-house cooper who makes and manages their stock of some 3,500 barrels! That equates to about 1 million bottles being fermented in barrel, being the largest (along with Krug) than any other producer in the region. Currently Bollinger own some 164 hectares in some of the best vineyard sites across champagne.

Blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. 18 crus: mainly Aÿ and Verzenay for the Pinot Noir, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Cramant for the Chardonnay.

Fermented entirely in aged oak barrels.

At Bollinger, only very high quality harvests become a vintage.

Maturation: Sealed with a natural cork and cellar aged for more than twice the time required by the Appellation.

“Disgorged January 2005. A deeper hue compared to the 1999, the nose with greater intensity, with delicate honeyed/buttery tones, green apples, a little more mushroomy just in the background, great lift and gaining intensity in the glass. Quintessential Bollinger bouquet.

The palate has a rich entry, very good ripeness with touches of clear honey, a touch of mango, melted butter, white flowers and much greater weight than the 1999. Superb definition towards the finish and great length. Outstanding Bollinger, one for the cellar if you can resist temptation."

95/100 - Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate