Non-Vintage is by far the most popular style of Champagne, representing as it does the producer's house style. The name is rather misleading; Krug's preferred term, 'multi-vintage', is perhaps more appropriate, since an NV will be a blend from a number of vintages. Consistency is crucial, and it is here that the skill of the blender comes to the fore.

What marks the ‘Champagne’ method from other sparkling wines is the fact that this complex and gradual maturation process, along with the second fermentation, takes place in the same bottle as the wine is sold. Pinot Noir accounts for nearly 40% of the plantings in Champagne and lies at the heart of most blends - it gives Champagne its body, structure, strength and grip. It is planted across Champagne and particularly so in the southern Aube district. 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. of the harvest is fermented in oak barrels, making the finished wines well-suited to extended ageing and contributing body and depth of flavour. There are only two types of blends produced, both pinot noir-dominated: the non-vintage Special Cuvée is the expression of the Bollinger house style, while the vintage-dated Grande Année, produced only in exceptional years, is designed to express the inherent character of the vintage. R.D (Recently Disgorged) is the same blend as Grande Année, kept on its lees and disgorged much later. Brut denotes a dry style of Champagne (less than 15 grams per litre). Most Champagne is non-vintage, produced from a blend from different years. The non-vintage blend is always based predominately on wines made from the current harvest, enriched with aged wines (their proportion and age varies by brand) from earlier harvests, which impart an additional level of complexity to the end wine. Champagnes from a single vintage are labelled with the year reference and with the description Millésimé.

You might also like

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. 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. The difference between the three formats was striking. The 75cl bottle was by far the most evolved – its zesty citrus characters countered by more “tertiary” aromas of savoury Marmite and grilled hazelnuts. The jeroboam and magnum, by contrast, were much more youthful, taut and bright. They would need more cellaring time but, ultimately, it would be worth the wait. Bollinger's uniqueness comes from its 174 hectares divided into seven main vineyards in Champagne, 85% of which are Grands Crus and Premiers Crus, making the house one of the few to produce its own grapes for its blends. Pinot Noir is the house's signature grape variety and represents 60% of the vineyard's vines.

The least planted of the three main grapes, chardonnay is still a crucial partner, bringing elegance and finesse to a blend. When grown so far north, acidity levels in chardonnay are high, but this is essential for wines to have longevity, and to ensure that the finished blend doesn't taste flabby. It is this acidity that marks the finesse and precision of these fine sparkling wines. Champagnes with a high proportion of chardonnay are generally the most elegant and pure styles and make wonderful aperitifs. Champagnes made solely from chardonnay are known as blanc de blancs ('white of whites'). of vineyards in Champagne are planted with Chardonnay and it performs best on the Côtes des Blancs and on the chalk slopes south of Epernay. It is relatively simple to grow, although it buds early and thus is susceptible to spring frosts. It produces lighter, fresher wines than those from Burgundy and gives finesse, fruit and elegance to the final blend. It is the sole grape in Blancs de Blancs, which are some of the richest long-lived Champagnes produced. In some Champagnes the dégorgement is delayed, sometimes for years, to increase the depth and complexity of the flavours through more time spent on the lees. After topping up (dosage) with a little more wine and sugar (known as liqueur d'expédition), the bottle is sealed. This cookie is set by AdRoll Group, to identify the device when the users move between different Digital Properties, for the purpose of serving targeted advertisements. This prestigious cuvée was made from 14 different crus, the Pinot Noirs are from Aÿ to Verzenay and the Chardonnays are from Cramant to Oger. Fermentation was exclusively carried out in barrels, the Bollinger 007 Luxury Limited Edition Moonraker 2007 was aged on lees and under a natural cork stopper for 10 years.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. Champagne sweetness: Champagnes, on the whole, are less sweet than they were 100 years ago, mainly as a result of consumer demand. Brut is by far the most common style.

of Bollinger's grape supply comes from its own vineyards. This is a minimum, set out in Bollinger's Charter of Ethics and Quality, which was published in 1992. This Charter confirms the House's commitment to true standards of excellence, and reinforces their stubborn determination to maintain those standards that have made Bollinger a watchword for the quality of Champagne. A recent study proved that Champagne may be stored equally well standing upright as horizontal. The pressure inside the bottle ensures the cork does not shrink and dry out for many years. Champagne is sensitive to light and warmth and should always be stored somewhere dark and cool. Whilst we want to say that all of our Bollinger gifts are perfect (which they are), we know that some of our Bollinger gifts are better suited for different occasions. For example, our Bollinger and chocolate hampers are better suited for Valentines, anniversaries and special birthday gifts. Our Bollinger with flute sets are perfect for any anniversary or milestone event. If you're looking to give a gift for a simple occasion, for example, a corporate gift, we recommend our single bottle sets. These are only our recommendations, and we can guarantee that any Bollinger gift you send will make any recipient smile. All of our gifts come with a personal message and can be delivered anywhere in the UK. What is the history of Bollinger?Since its foundation in 1829, Champagne Bollinger has been producing great Champagnes with a powerful, sophisticated and complex style. Champagne Bollinger has a family history in Champagne of over 180 years and is the custodian of a patiently established heritage during the decades. A Champagne house with a venerable history and tradition, it is now run by the great-great-grandson of the founder Joseph Bollinger, thus retaining the family ownership and legacy. It is one of the relatively few independent, family-owned Champagne houses remaining. Aside from making great champagne, Bollinger is best known for its association with the James Bond movie franchise as the favourite bubbly of Britain's most famous fictional secret agent. Bollinger ages their non-vintage wines three years and the vintage wines five to eight years. Champagnes are riddled by hand. You can always count on Bollinger Special Cuvee to exude fruit, spice and nut-like qualities, all topped with a fine mousse that refreshes and delights the palate when you want to impress a dinner guest or offer a special gift. How do you give Champagne as a gift? Scents of fresh almonds and yellow fruit merge with roasted and grilled notes along with a subtle touch of dried citrus. The cuvée’s golden hue are a testament to its maturity, as well as the art of Bollinger’s winemaking. Which grapes are included in the blend, and their proportion, is one of the key factors determining the style of most Champagnes. Three grapes are used - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.

Brut Nature/Brut Zéro - Fewer than 3 grams of sugar per litre (1 on The Wine Society’s sweetness code) Champagne is made from chardonnay, pinot noir or pinot meunier grapes (there are one or two other permitted varieties but these are very rare) grown on chalky hillsides within a strictly demarcated region centred on the twin towns of Reims and Epernay, some 90 miles east of Paris. After hand harvesting, each grape variety is vinified separately, and in the following spring, the wines are blended unless a blancs de blancs is to made in which case any blending will be from parcels of chardonnay that were vinified separately. Yeast and sugar are added, and the wine is bottled for its second fermentation which creates the bubbles, or mousse. Unusually for a Champagne house, Bollinger have been grape growers as well as producers from the beginning. The house charter states that 70% of grape supply must always come from the firm’s own vineyards, defining the standards of excellence that are synonymous with the Bollinger name. Renowned for consistently fantastic quality, Bollinger Special Cuvée is an elegant champagne that is sure to make your evening special. This champagne house has been refining their techniques since 1829, using the unique chalky soil of their vineyards to produce high quality Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. Known affectionately in the UK as "Bolly", this brand has become a firm favourite and is sure to bring a touch of class to every occasion. The Gift of Good Taste The most significant period of its history was from 1941 to 1977, the tenure of Madame“Lilly” Bollinger, who expanded production significantly and was ahead of her time in travelling the world to promote the brand. Around this time Bollinger also acquired some of its precious pinot noir vineyards, using the grapes in the production of its two rosés.Pinot noir offers complexity, fruit flavour and texture, which explains why it is the most planted Champagne grape. Acidity levels are not as high as chardonnay, but pinot noir offers weightier flavours, adding body and strength, and giving the wine structure. Bollinger is a good example of a classic pinot noir-dominant blend. 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 Rosé Champagne is unique in that it is the only rosé in France that is allowed to be made by mixing red and white wines, as opposed to the normal method of using dark-skinned grapes and macerating them for a short period, so a little of the colour is leeched. In the past some houses felt it rather beneath them to produce rosé Champagne, but almost all do so now.