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?
