Champagne Bollinger

Champagne Bollinger is one of the most famous houses in Champagne, in northern France. It is notable for its muscular, Pinot Noir-dominant cuvée, and is widely available around the world.

The house, originally known as Renaudin-Bollinger & Cie, was founded in 1829. It passed through generations of the family of Bollinger until 2008 when, for the first time in its history, the chairman came from outside of the family. Champagne Bollinger is still independently owned.

Bollinger is located in Aÿ in the heart of Champagne, and the majority of the vines are located on premier cru and grand cru plots. The house style is focused on Pinot Noir, with Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier being used to enhance rather than dominate. Pinot Noir makes up no less than 60 percent of all of the Bollinger collection, and there is no Blanc de Blanc in the portfolio.

Two thirds of the grapes are estate grown, with the rest coming from growers with a long history with the house; all plots are vinified separately to allow for each specific terroir to be fully expressed.

Bollinger has a vast array of barrels dating back to 1903, the majority of which are purchased from a French négociant at three years old and maintained by an in-house cooper until the age of 30. This allows for the roundness of style and integrated flavor typical of Bollinger. The house also has a large portfolio of reserve wines that are kept under cork rather than the more traditional crown cap. This is both time-consuming and expensive, with hand riddling and disgorgement needed, which is why the majority of Champagne houses do not follow this practice.

The Bollinger collection encompasses non-vintage brut and rosé wines, La Grand Année Brut and Rosé, as well as prestige cuvées, RD, Vielles Vignes Francaises and La Cote aux Enfants. RD (meaning recently disgorged) was the brainchild of Madame Bollinger in the mid 20th Century, a major innovation of the time. This cuvée is kept on its lees much longer than any other wine in the range. Disgorging the bottle just before release – hence the "recently disgorged" – allows for a combination of freshness and age.

In recent years, Bollinger RD has been the favorite of James Bond in the Licence to Kill, Skyfall and Spectre movies, highlighting a historical relationship between the two brands, which began on paper in the 1956 novel Diamonds are Forever.