2015 Bollinger La Grande Annee Rose, Champagne

Bollinger's 2015 Brut La Grande Année Rosé was disgorged in May last year with seven grams per liter dosage. Offering up deep aromas of orchard fruits, blood orange, mandarin rind and peach mingled with nuances of coffee, praline and fino sherry, it's medium to full-bodied, pillowy and layered, with a broad attack that segues into a vinous palate framed by high levels of structuring dry extract that makes its presence felt on the sapid, nutty and penetrating finish. Given the skin maturity and inherent structure of the year, the Bollinger team elected to include only 4.5% of still red wine in the blend, a comparatively low percentage.

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.

96 points robertparker.com

Bollinger La Grande Année Rosé is Champagne with serious depth, poise and pedigree — not just a pink fizz for celebrations, but a gastronomic, cellar-worthy wine that wears its Pinot dominance and Bollinger DNA with pride. Only produced in exceptional vintages, this is the rosé sibling to the house’s prestigious La Grande Année, and it takes things up a notch with its complexity, structure and sheer charisma.

The 2015 vintage (current release) is a blend of around 62% Pinot Noir and 38% Chardonnay, primarily from grand and premier cru vineyards including Aÿ, Verzenay and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. What sets it apart is the addition of 5–6% still red Pinot Noir from the legendary Côte aux Enfants vineyard in Aÿ — Bollinger’s monopole site, and one of the jewels of the region. This small splash gives the wine its coppery hue and savoury edge. Fermentation is entirely in old oak barrels, and the wine is aged on lees for over six years under natural cork, followed by riddling and disgorgement by hand.

In the glass, this is no delicate wallflower. Expect complex aromas of blood orange, redcurrant, rose petal, dried cherry, toasted brioche and almond. The palate is precise, chalky and full-bodied, showing wild strawberry, citrus peel, crushed raspberry and fine spice. There’s tension and salinity through the finish, with a savoury, vinous grip that makes it feel more like a fine Burgundy with bubbles than a fruit-driven rosé.

Food pairing: Ideal with duck breast and cherry jus, roasted quail with mushrooms, langoustine tartare, or even bluefin tuna sashimi. Also works brilliantly with aged Parmesan or game terrine.

Cellar potential: Beautiful now with decanting in large glasses, but will develop more nutty, savoury depth over 10–15 years. A Champagne to lay down.