About the product
Let's just start by saying this is one of the best NV cuvees in the market due to the attention to detail and care taken in making this wine. The question that presents itself is why is the Cuvee so Special?
Well, according to the President of Bollinger Bernard Phillipon, he explained that the 5 pillars that make it so special are;
1. The vineyard, having fresh fruit to select from and keep consistency year on year.
2. High proportion of pinot noir which is a part of the signature of this house.
3. Use of oak barrels, all 3,500 of them which makes Bollinger the house with the most oak barrels in champagne (similar to Krug) and all ferments happen in oak.
4. About 50-60% reserve wines being used, and these have come from magnums. This is substantially important as most houses use barrels or stainless steel vates to store large amounts of reserve wine to blend into their wine. All magnums are listed, village by village. Think about that for a second... That's a lot of work and is uncommon in champagne.
5. The last ingredient in making the Special Cuvée special is 'time'. 3 years on lees in barrel, magnum and bottle. The result is a mineral-driven, vinous style of champagne that yields richness in fruit from pinot and an underlying super fresh, citrus zing coming through. Does it get much better than this?
About the house
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 from which they have never deviated. 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 - that is the largest (along with Krug) of any other producer in the region. Currently Bollinger own some 164 hectares in some of the best sites across Champagne.
Technical details
25% chardonnay, 60% pinot, 15% meunier; more than 300 crus; more than 85% grand cru and premier cru; 15% fermented in old oak barrels; aged 3–4 years on lees; 8g/L dosage; 90% of production, more than 2.5 million bottles
Reviews
"The complexity and richness of Special Cuvée is unparalleled among the entry non-vintage blends of every champagne house, short of ascending to the mesosphere of Krug. Its grand recipe explains why, built on incredible depth of 50–60% reserves...The 2013 base boasts more than 50% reserves. This is the finest Special Cuvée since the stunning 2008 base five years ago – and it just might top that monumental wine! Triumphant complexity is a given at Bollinger, but it’s dynamic freshness and vitality that really set apart the very best releases." 96/100 point - Tyson Stelzer, The Champagne Guide - 2020-21
