Bollinger Champagne La Grande Année Brut 2014

Champagne Grande Année from the Bollinger winery is a classic of the French tradition of champagne production. A high-quality and highly prized production with the AOC designation, it is composed of an excellent balance between two-thirds Pinot Noir and one-third Chardonnay. The vineyards are located in the Marne Valley, which, thanks to its hilly conformation and chalky, organic limestone soils, allow for a balanced supply of nutrients and optimal water flow. The climate is typically continental with high rainfall, and the temperatures subject to the Atlantic rigours allow the grapes to ripen slowly, becoming particularly suited to the development of the typical bubbles. The vines are cultivated using the classic Guyot technique, which guarantees excellent yields in both quantity and quality. Very useful for vineyards that produce a lot of fruit directly from the intermediate buds, this technique involves pruning the leaves except for the previous year’s shoot and the so-called spur, a small area limited to very few buds. The harvest, carried out strictly by hand requires careful selection by expert winemakers and passed down from generation to generation. The initial fermentation takes place in stainless steel vats, followed by maturation in French oak barrels only after blending. Grande Année Champagne is aged in bottle in the cellars for at least five years, more than double the minimum required by the French regulations for the production of Champagne.