BollingerLaCoteauxEnfantsCoteauxChampenoisRouge2019

Champagne Bollinger owns an impressive 178 hectares of vineyards, of which 85% are in Grand Cru and Premier Cru villages. Their land is spread over seven main villages: Aÿ, Avenay, Louvois, Tauxières and Verzenay planted with Pinot Noir; Cuis with Chardonnay; and Champvoisy with Meunier. Bollinger are one of the few Houses to produce the majority of their own grapes for their blends. Pinot Noir represents 60% of the House’s vineyards and defines the House style: complex and powerful with remarkable structure. In 2012 Champagne Bollinger was certified High Environment Value (HEV) this certification rewards a number of environmental procedures implemented at the Maison.rrLong before we found bubbles in our Champagne, this region was praised for producing excellent red wines. Bollinger’s La Côte aux Enfants cuvée takes us back to these days gone by, but with modern viticulture. La Cote aux Enfantsâ€?is a steep sided 4 hectare vineyard established by Jacques Bollinger between 1926 and 1934, buying up over 50 plots from many owners and planted to only Pinot Noir. This historic piece of land has two defining features: the south slope, which is vinified as a still red wine, and the north-west slope, which was the previously hidden side of the vineyard used exclusively to splice the blend in La Grande Année Rosé. Since 2012 the north-west facing slope provides the grapes for the new champagne Bollinger La Cote aux Enfants Champagne.rrWeather: Following a mild and wet winter, spring temperatures were well above seasonal norms, allowing the vines to quickly develop. Then, the warm, dry summer allowed the grapes to ripen with extraordinary quality and quantity. The 2019 harvest saw cooler nights, wo while you have plenty of ripeness this helped maintain freshness in the grapes and the champagne are looking very elegant and with a certain characteristic 2019 tension.rrBollinger’s still red wine, Coteaux Champenois Rouge, has become increasingly rare as they switched more production from the famous La Cote aux Enfants vineyard to champagne production.rrTechnical Information:rVineyard: 100% Grand Cru | Aÿ: La Cote aux EnfantsrGrape Varieties: 100% Pinot NoirrFermentation: One third harvested as whole clusters (vendange entière)rVinification & Ageing: Burgundian vinification, aged for eight months in small oak barrels.rDrink: Now to 2038+rrTasting Note: On the nose, Intense aromas of dark fruits reminiscent of Bigarreau cherry and blackberries, with notes of liquorice and sweet spices like vanilla. On the palate, touches of violet and bergamot are complemented by flavours of ripe black fruit. The wine then reveals notes of pepper, truffle and forest floor. Full bodied with silky tannins.