2015 Bollinger La Grande Annee Brut, Champagne

The 2015 Brut La Grande Année was disgorged last year with eight grams per liter dosage. The wine has turned out beautifully, exhibiting a more muscular, old-school Bollinger profile in contrast to the unusually racy, fine-boned 2014 that preceded it. Wafting from the glass with notes of pear, orange oil and white flowers mingled with notions of mocha, toasted hazelnuts and fino sherry, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and textural, with a dense core of fruit framed by chalky structuring extract, concluding with a long, sapid finish.

Today, the 2015 Champagne vintage enjoys a mixed reputation, largely because some wines show an herbal aromatic signature indicative of incomplete maturation resulting from hydric stress. But of course, it's hard to generalize about so large a region, whose diversity of terroirs is compounded by equally diverse agronomic approaches, and the success of Bollinger's 2015s is a case in point. Why have these wines turned out so well? The house's best terroirs are located on chalk, so their vines experienced less hydric stress. Bollinger's practice of vinifying small lots in barrel and blending comparatively late also permitted the elimination of any lots showing herbaceous characteristics that other houses would likely have blended during vinification. The result is a Grande Année derived from only 11 of the potential 20 communes that can inform the blend, with an emphasis on the Montagne de Reims in the blend to bring more cut. Harvest started on September 8, and the lack of water throughout the season and, particularly at "nouaison," the moment when the infant berries form, resulted in 30% less berry mass than an average year. Those small berries without much juice made pressing more challenging than usual, but they have delivered a wine framed by unusually high levels of dry extract that contributes real phenolic mid-palate weight that will delight readers who love vinous, sapid Champagnes that are built to age.

95+ points robertparker.com

The 2015 Bollinger La Grande Année is a powerful, structured Champagne that carries the bold signature of the house with confidence and clarity. It’s a wine that wears its vintage proudly — warm, sunny and ripe — yet still delivers the restraint and mineral backbone needed for longevity. This is Bollinger at its most muscular, but not without finesse.

The blend is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, sourced from 19 crus with Aÿ and Verzenay dominating the Pinot component, and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oiry bringing tension through the Chardonnay. Fermented entirely in seasoned oak barrels, then aged on lees under natural cork for over six years, it follows the same traditional methods that define all La Grande Année releases. Disgorgement is manual, and dosage is kept low to preserve clarity and terroir expression.

The 2015 vintage was marked by a hot, dry summer with small berries and thick skins — ideal for Bollinger’s Pinot-centric style. In the glass, this shows generous aromas of baked apple, Mirabelle plum, toasted hazelnuts, fresh brioche and a touch of spice. The palate is full-bodied and vinous, with a creamy mousse, firm acidity and a long, savoury finish marked by citrus oil, almond meal and oyster shell salinity. It’s a Champagne that’s equally at home in a flute or a Burgundy glass.

Food pairing: Try it with roasted chicken and truffle jus, turbot with beurre blanc, lobster bisque, or aged Gruyère. It’s a food-first Champagne that shines at the table.

Cellar potential: Approachable now with air, but best from 2026 to 2040. With time, it will build layers of roasted nut, honey and spice complexity.