Wine Advisor
Bollinger, La Grande Annee Rose 2004
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Description
La Grande Année Rosé is an alternative expression of La Grande Année, transformed by the addition, at blending, of the unique red wine from La Côte aux Enfants. The emblematic single plot of the House, located in Aÿ, produces still red wine only when the grapes reach perfect ripeness. After vinification in small aged oak barrels and a prolonged ageing on its lees, even today every bottle of La Grande Année Rosé is riddled and disgorged by hand. This reflects all the expertise of the House, able to create a cuvée whose quality is matched only by its rarity. La Grande Année Rosé 2014 is the fruit of a blend of La Grande Année 2014 and a unique red wine from the Côte aux Enfants. This emblematic plot in Aÿ, one of Bollinger’s single plots, is vinified in red only when the grape maturation is optimal, a rarity that contributes to the quality of the wine produced.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Stephan Reinhardt
The 2004 La Grande Année Rosé is based on 68% Pinot Noir and 32% Chardonnay, 89% from Grand Cru villages and 11% from Premier Crus. Disgorged in July 2013, this salmon colored rosé champagne displays fine red berry and floral flavors on the nose, whereas the palate is vibrant, taut and linear; it is full of tension, power and minerality, and extremely refreshing but not as elegant and refined as the white twin. The finish is a little bit stringent.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2004 Brut Rose La Grande Annee is a beautifully focused, vibrant wine endowed with striking minerality and fabulous overall balance. Clean veins of chalkiness run through the fruit in this energetic, taut Rose, while seductive floral notes linger on the finish. The 2004 is 68% Pinot Noir (including 5% still Pinot) and 32% Chardonnay, 89% from Grand Cru villages and 11% from Premier Crus. The 2004 is very young, but it is going to be nearly impossible to resist. It is a dazzling effort from Bollinger. Disgorged September 2011. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2029. Bollinger is of course one of the great names in Champagne. The Special Cuvee is typically one of my favorite wines in its price range, but it is the 2004 Rose La Grande Annee that steals the show this year. Bollinger is unique among Champagne houses in that the reserve wines are all bottled in magnum and with natural cork, a huge, labor-intensive effort. Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2004 Brut Rosé La Grande Année is a beautifully focused, vibrant wine endowed with striking minerality and fabulous overall balance. Clean veins of chalkiness run through the fruit in this energetic, taut Rosé, while seductive floral notes linger on the finish. The 2004 is 68% Pinot Noir (including 5% still Pinot) and 32% Chardonnay, 89% from Grand Cru villages and 11% from Premier Crus. The 2004 is very young, but it is going to be nearly impossible to resist. It is a dazzling effort from Bollinger. Disgorged September 2011.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
(disgorged May, 2012; L218732): Bright orange-pink. Potent, mineral-accented aromas of redcurrant and blood orange, with smoke, anise and floral accents and a hint of chalky minerals. Sappy red berry and candied citrus flavors show excellent vivacity and put on weight with air. Finishes plush and expansive, with bitter orange pith and ginger notes adding lift and bite. Showing impressive complexity now but this should be even better in a couple of years.
About the Producer
Established in the commune of Aÿ-Champagne in 1829, the House of Bollinger is home to an impressive legacy of winemaking excellence, achieved through the polished precision of a finely tuned timepiece. Today, the Bollinger Champagne House reigns over 440 acres dedicated to the vine in the Champagne region of northern France, of which an impressive 85% is classified Grand Cru or Premier Cru. The vineyards are spread out over 7 main communes. Pinot Noir is planted in Ay (the headquarters of the House), as well as Avenay, Verzenay, Louvois and Tauxieres. Meanwhile, the House’s Chardonnay comes from Cuis, while Pinot Meunier is planted in Champvoisy. A complex and powerful grape, Pinot Noir represents 60% of the total plantings, which corresponds to the exact proportion of this grape variety in the blend of the House’s signature Special Cuvee. The two crown gems of the House are its twin plots, the Clos Saint-Jacques and Chaudes Terres, where ungrafted pre-phylloxera vines are tended to by hand, their fruit used to produce the very exclusive and rare Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Francaises cuvee.
