Exclusive fine wine offer: 3 bottles of the 2014 vintage of Bollinger ‘Vieilles Vignes Françaises’. [read the full champagne story]
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We can feel the festive spirit in the air, foretelling great end of year celebrations to come! The ideal setting for us to announce an exclusive fine wine offer: 3 bottles of the 2014 vintage of Vieilles Vignes Françaises are now available to purchase. Produced in extremely limited quantities, this rare cuvée has been transported to the pinnacle of excellence by heritage and know-how.
History Revived
Every bottle, each of which has been carefully numbered, represents one of
Maison Bollinger’s long-standing traditions: Vieilles Vignes Françaises, the historic vines of clos Saint-Jacques and clos des Chaudes-Terres. Through a blend crafted exclusively from Pinot Noir from our Vieilles Vignes Françaises, the 2014 vintage reflects the exceptional character of this terroir. With a timeless soul, it carries with it the taste of champagne past and present – the rare flavours, at once mouthwatering and fresh, of the very first champagnes.
A present from the past
We bring together every ounce of our skill and artisanal expertise to capture this almost forgotten memory. Our vines are carefully tended by hand with the tools of our forebears, according to traditional Champagne viticultural methods. We manually till the land and use the traditional provignage – or layering – training system, to preserve the original qualities of our vines.
Vielles Vignes Françaises represents the culmination of our quest to become masters of Pinot Noir; its rarity is fully apparent on tasting.
2014 Bollinger ‘Vieilles Vignes Françaises’
99(99)p
100PN
aprox €2,000
TASTING NOTE Champagne Club by Richard Juhlin – ‘How long will we be able to enjoy this treasure? You are well aware that the phylloxera louse can any day crawl under the gate and in a flash destroy the two fragile slabs of Clos Saint-Jacques and Clos Chaudes-Terres in Aÿ. This impermanence makes the wine even more treasured and unique, as if its stratospheric quality weren’t reason enough to hold the world’s finest Blanc de Noirs in high esteem. Tasted directly after the mellow La Côte aux Enfants from the same vintage, I was prepared for VVF to be beaten for the first time by its sibling wine from the same village. When I finished tasting it was clear that I had just tasted the perfect champagne in its style.
The champagne combines the honeyed concentration of a Château d´Yquem with the buttery nutty power and sophisticated richness of a Montrachet from Comte Lafon. But my God, Juhlin, it’s Pinot Noir. Yes, but the fabulous creation is more reminiscent of the mentioned wines than of a big red Burgundy this time. I don’t really know why 2014 was so perfect for Bollinger. Perhaps one has become even more skilled at maneuvering all the details that give a perfect VVF, or does the old theory apply that naturally masculine Bollinger is often at its best in slightly lighter and elegant vintages? In any case, this is a colossal wine experience!
The wine belongs to the small few who act with such self-evident weight that comments and comparisons feel redundant. The color is deep golden and the extremely small bubbles move slowly up through the glass. The bouquet is rich, dense and powerful like a rumbling thunderstorm in the distance. Filled with honey and hazelnut essence and screaming scent of honeysuckle. In the mouth you are met by an oily and creamy essence of dark fruit, 70% chocolate from Domori and licorice with the same grilled lemons and apricot marmalade I find in all Bollinger’s wines from 2014. Monumental, long, dense and unreal wide like a parade street in Buenos Aires. Drink soon or wait ten years for the next phase. Just as with La Côte aux Enfants, there is a high risk of tunnel behavior for a few years.’
