Wine Advisor
Bollinger, La Grande Annee Rose 2012
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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: Antonio Galloni
The 2012 La Grande Année Rosé is airy, gracious and so wonderfully inviting. Crushed flowers, mint, white pepper and red berry fruit are all gracefully woven together. Today, the 2012 is naturally quite young and still shows the tension of a Champagne that was disgorged just a few months ago. Readers who prefer Champagnes with softer edges and a bit more flavor complexity will want to cellar the 2012. I have to admit, I very much like the wine today, in its youthful state, where its energy and focus are front and center.The 2012 is a blend of 67% Pinot Noir and 33% Chardonnay taken from 21 villages built around a core of Aÿ and Verzenay Pinot Noir and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oiry Chardonnay, crus that are quite complementary. Disgorged January 2020. Dosage is 8 grams per liter.
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.
