In 2010, whilst taking an inventory of the House cellars, an abandoned wine cellar containing bottles and magnums of reserve wines was discovered. Pinot noir is above all a demanding grape: it is fragile, requiring care at every step, and the wines it produces take a very long time to age. Yet Bollinger has built its reputation by showcasing this variety because of the incomparable finesse that pinot noir can bring to a wine.

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The story begins with Athanase de Villermont, who inherited a vast estate from his family on the outskirts of Aÿ. He instantly sensed the extraordinary potential of the wines of Champagne, but as a member of the aristocracy, he was forbidden from taking part in any commercial activity. Then he met Joseph “Jacques” Bollinger, who specialised in selling the wines of Champagne, and Paul Renaudin, a born-and-bred Champenois fascinated by the world of wine. On 6 February 1829, the company Renaudin-Bollinger & Cie was founded. Joseph was in charge of sales, while Paul oversaw the cellar. Athanase had founded a Champagne house that would transcend centuries. In 1994 it was none other than the great-great-grandson of founder Joseph Bollinger who was to become head of the House. Ghislain de Montgolfier continued to develop the House with the pursuit of excellence as a guiding light. He continues to maintain a policy of voluntarily limiting amounts produced to increase quality, while remaining true to the Bollinger spirit. In 2007 his technical expertise led him to be elected as head of the Board of the Union des Maisons de Champagne and co-chairman of the Comité interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne. Champagne Bollinger keeps part of its reserve wines in magnums. Every year, a portion of the best wines joins the exceptional collection of 800,000 reserve magnums destined for the Special Cuvée and Bollinger Rosé blends. This method is unique in Champagne, with its use at Bollinger documented since 1890, and is one of the great style markers of the house. With her customary common sense, Madame Bollinger gathered around her those family members who were most able to follow in her footsteps. Firstly she taught Claude d’Hautefeuille, her niece’s husband, the ins and outs of the House. In 1950 he became a Director and launched an ambitious modernisation programme whilst respecting Bollinger’s quality requirements. Madame Bollinger appointed him Chairman in 1971 but remained closely involved until her death six years later. Madame Bollinger’s nephew, Christian Bizot, took over from Claude in 1978. A great traveller, like his Aunt Lily before him he made a point of meeting with sommeliers, restaurant owners and wine merchants to promote the House’s wines. A great Chairman, he was well known for his outspokenness and informality.or served with a fruity and tart dessert. To fully appreciate its unique style, bouquet and aromas, Bollinger Rosé is best served between 8 and 10°C. Enjoy it now ! Elisabeth Law de Lauriston-Boubers. Jacques Bollinger took care of the future development of the business, most notably by extending the premises, building new storerooms and acquiring a residence along Boulevard du Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, where the present day offices are housed. He also added to the Bollinger vineyards by purchasing vines in Tauxières. These “aromatic bombs” contribute to the complexity of the non-vintage blends and their consistency over time. This notion of time does not stop here. At Bollinger we let nature run its course; if the harvest does not reach vintage standards, we wait until the following year or even the year after that, so that quality always prevails over quantity. To take this idea even further, only the La Grande Année vintages with exceptional ageing potential will be left several years longer in the cellars, to become the famous Bollinger R.D. cuvées, delighting the taste buds of the most exacting tasters. Over the years, Bollinger has built its vineyards at the heart of the finest crus in Champagne. Champagne Bollinger’s 179 hectares of vines are made up of 85% Grand and Premier crus and are farmed by our teams of growers across 7 separate vineyards: Aÿ, Avenay, Tauxières, Louvois and Verzenay for pinot noir, around the Montagne de Reims, Cuis for chardonnay on the Côte des Blancs and Champvoisy for meunier in the Vallée de la Marne.

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Jacques Bollinger, the son of Georges, took over as head of the Champagne House on the death of his father in 1918. Jacques earned fame as an aviator during the First Wold War. In 1923, he marriedIn the Vallée de la Marne – and more specifically, the Champvoisy vineyard – Bollinger grows the majority of its pinot meunier, a subtle yet vigorous variety.

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Only by descending into the subterranean world of the cellars can we fully grasp the importance of time at Bollinger. Firstly, because all the wines Another of Bollinger’s distinctive features are two plots, the Clos Saint-Jacques and Chaudes Terres, which have never succumbed to phylloxera. These ungrafted vines are entirely tended by hand and reproduced using a form of layering called provignage, thereby providing the means to preserve this extraordinary heritage from which the very exclusive Vieilles Vignes Françaises cuvée is produced. On the different hillsides of this wine-making region, the unique qualities of pinot noir are cultivated in the historic vineyards of Aÿ, as well as Tauxières, Louvois, Avenay and Verzenay. Explore these terroirs.This is a steep hill on the outskirts of Aÿ – from the village, you can spot the little white chalk cliff, right in the middle of the vineyard. Some even call it “the Romanée-Conti of Champagne”. are left to age on the lees for twice or three times as long as stipulated by the Champagne appellation, so that the wine can develop and gain in complexity. It is this long rest that gives that rare delicate quality to the aromas and a velvety texture to the bubbles.