Wine Advisor
Bollinger, La Grande Annee Brut 2000
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Description
La Grande Annee by Champagne Bollinger is an exceptional, timeless champagne. Crafted with artisanal savoir-faire, it undergoes vinification in oak barrels, lending complex aromas and remarkable aging potential. The 2014 vintage, an assembly of 19 crus (61% Pinot Noir from Aÿ and Verzenay, 39% Chardonnay from Chouilly and Oiry), reveals golden glints and a precise, fruity nose. On the palate, fine effervescence, vinosity, delicate acidity, and sea-air finish create excellent length.
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2000 Brut La Grande Annee shows incredible elegance and finesse in a mid-weight, totally sublime style. The wine remains fresh and nuanced throughout, with a polished mousse and exceptional overall balance. Notes of toastiness come to life on the long, creamy finish. The Grande Annee is 63% Pinot Noir and 37% Chardonnay sourced from 76% Grand Cru and 24% Premier Cru vineyards. This bottle was disgorged in January, 2009. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2020. This is a beautiful set of new releases from Bollinger, one of Champagne’s reference-point houses. The wines are aged in neutral oak barrels, while all of the reserve wines are aged in magnums, a painstaking procedure that must be seen to be truly appreciated. This year I didn’t taste the entry-level NV Special Cuvee or Brut Rose, but the Special Cuvee in particular is typically one of my favorite Champagnes in the $75 price range. Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2000 Brut La Grande Annee is a ripe, open wine bursting with generous, expansive fruit. Smoke, minerals, pastry crust and flowers add complexity to the radiant fruit. The Grande Annee reveals gorgeous depth and a multi-dimensional, kaleidoscopic personality that screams of pure breed. The 2000 will be a fascinating vintage to follow. I am not sure it has the freshness to be an extremely long-lived wine, but it does a fabulous job in capturing the Bollinger house style. The 2000 Grande Annee is 63% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay of which 76% is Grand Cru and 24% is Premier Cru. This is Lot L911736. Disgorged January 19, 2009. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2020. This is an exceptional set of new wines from Bollinger, one of Champagne’s historic houses. From top to bottom, there isn’t anything Bollinger isn’t doing well these days. I recently sat down with Chef de Caves Matthieu Kaufmann to taste through a range of the house’s 2009s. Readers will find notes on that tasting on www.erobertparker.com One of the distinguishing features of the Bollinger style is the aging of reserve wines in magnum under cork (not crown seal), a painstaking labor of love. Bollinger also has some of the most informative back labels among the region’s larger producers. It would be great to see Krug, Moet & Chandon, Roederer, Taittinger, Veuve Cliquot and a number of the region’s big houses follow suit. Importer: Terlato Wines International, Lake Bluff, IL; tel. (847) 604-8900
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2000 Brut La Grande Année is a ripe, open wine bursting with generous, expansive fruit. Smoke, minerals, pastry crust and flowers add complexity to the radiant fruit. The Grande Année reveals gorgeous depth and a multi-dimensional, kaleidoscopic personality that screams of pure breed. The 2000 will be a fascinating vintage to follow. I am not sure is has the freshness to be an extremely long-lived wine, but it does a fabulous job in capturing the Bollinger house style. The 2000 Grande Année is 63% Pinot Noir, 37% Chardonnay of which 76% is Grand Cru and 24% is Premier Cru. This is Lot L911736. Disgorged January 19th, 2009.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2000 Brut La Grande Année shows incredible elegance and finesse in a mid-weight, totally sublime style. The wine remains fresh and nuanced throughout, with a polished mousse and exceptional overall balance. Notes of toastiness come to life on the long, creamy finish. The Grande Année is 63% Pinot Noir and 37% Chardonnay sourced from 76% Grand Cru and 24% Premier Cru vineyards. This bottle was disgorged in January, 2009.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
(63% pinot noir and 37% chardonnay) Bright yellow-gold. High-pitched aromas of lemongrass, orange peel, pear and white pepper, with a slow-building smokiness. Energetic, sharply focused citrus flavors gain depth with air, picking up deeper orchard and pit fruit character while retaining vivacity. Leaves a trail of piquant minerals and citrus zest behind on the long, tight finish. I'd let this rest for at least another five years.
Reviewed by: Josh Raynolds
Light, bright gold with an energetic bead. Precise lemon zest and orange aromas are complemented by deeper notes of pear skin, honey, almond and chamomile, with a subtle mineral quality gaining strength with air. Youthful and surprisingly lithe for a wine from this house, with spicy citrus and orchard fruit flavors joined by smoky minerality and nuttiness on the back end. The honey note returns on the long, spicy sappy finish. I like this wine's balance and cut.
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.
