Champagne Bollinger - Brut Spécial Cuvée

Bettane & Desseauve

About the wine:

Spécial Cuvée features a high proportion of reserve wines stored in magnums, which ensures unparalleled precision in the blends.

About the estate:

A prestigious traditional house based in Aÿ since 1829, Bollinger remains at the very pinnacle of Champagne. Its 178-hectare vineyard, comprising Grand Crus and Premiers Crus, provides 60% of its supply. All vintage wines are vinified in barrels, as is a small proportion of the house’s multi-vintage brut, the Special Cuvée. This cuvée benefits from a high proportion of reserve wines stored in magnums, ensuring unparalleled precision in the blends. In recent years, the house has been creating exciting new cuvées: a “blanc de noir” from Aÿ sourced from the Côte aux Enfants plot, which also produces a superb Coteau Champenois. And Pinot Noir cuvées whose names are derived from the dominant cru in the blend, which varies each year. All of the house’s wines shine at the table.

Guide Hachette des vins

About the estate:

A renowned house founded in 1829 by Joseph Bollinger, a wine merchant originally from Württemberg. It has remained a family-owned business, although since 2008 it has been chaired by someone from outside the family (Charles-Armand de Belenet since 2017). With a 179-hectare vineyard dominated by Pinot Noir (60%) and its own cooperage, the house is committed to maintaining its signature style, based on expert blends of wines vinified separately in oak barrels (reused to avoid overpowering oak notes) and in small-capacity tanks. As for the reserve wines, they are stored in magnums under “petite mousse.” Bottling is done with cork stoppers, and the wines undergo extended aging on the lees. Gilles Descôtes joined the company in 2003 and, in 2013, succeeded six cellar masters.

Guide des Vins Gault & Millau

About the wine:

A creamy freshness emerges from the initial aromas of white fruits (peach, quince), raspberry, and chalk in a nose full of delicacy and refinement. The remarkably creamy bubbles lend an airy quality to a charming palate, full of fruit and roundness without any heaviness whatsoever. The comfortable finish retains a refined freshness with chalky notes.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

The Special Cuvée expresses both a beautiful, mature character and a savory richness, while retaining its vibrancy.

About the estate:

If there’s one brand with a strong personality and a highly recognizable style, it’s Bollinger. This family-owned house in Aÿ produces wines dominated by Pinot Noir—full-bodied, deep, and subtly aged. Bollinger’s history is incredibly rich. It’s a leading house that’s always at the forefront of innovation. The aging potential of its older vintages attests to this commitment to excellence, passed down from generation to generation. The character and richness of these fine-dining champagnes remain a model for others to follow.

James Suckling

Jeb Dunnuck

About the wine:

Upon opening, the Champagne Special Cuvée NV displays a bright yellow/silver hue and reveals a fresh, and in fact more mineral, profile on the nose than I had expected, with layers of fresh raspberries, brioche, wet stone, and orange blossom. On the palate, it is medium- to full-bodied and classically rounded, as one would expect from this house, yet it retains good tension and a silky, chalky texture, with an ultra-fine mousse, a hint of salinity in its notes of grapefruit zest and almond, and a creamy finish. This is a very stylish wine that will drink beautifully over the next ten years. They always aim to include 8 to 10 vintages in the blend, with the oldest being 18 years old (15 years old at bottling).