France · Champagne

Bollinger

Bollinger is one of Champagne's great independent houses, still family-managed (the Bollinger family remains involved through the Société Jacques Bollinger), based in Aÿ in the Vallée de la Marne and farming 166 hectares of estate vineyards — predominantly in Grand Cru Aÿ and Verzenay, two of the finest Pinot Noir sites in Champagne. The house is distinguished by its commitment to traditional winemaking: base wines aged in small oak barrels, extended lees ageing, and a house style built around the power and richness of Pinot Noir. Bollinger R.D. (Récemment Dégorgé — Recently Disgorged) is the house's most celebrated wine: vintage Champagne aged extended time on lees (typically 8–12 years) and disgorged immediately before shipment, preserving all the freshness of extended autolytic contact. The RD concept was pioneered by Madame Bollinger in 1961 and represents one of Champagne's most influential winemaking innovations. The 1973, 1982, 1988, 1990, 1996, and 2002 RDs are considered the modern benchmarks for age-worthy Champagne. Vieilles Vignes Françaises, perhaps the rarest Bollinger wine, is produced from two tiny parcels of ungrafted pre-phylloxera Pinot Noir in Aÿ and Bouzy — approximately 3,000 bottles per year — vinified as a still wine base and converted to sparkling. It represents one of the most historically significant Champagnes at auction, connecting modern production to the pre-phylloxera era.