Descripción

Este espumoso solo sale al mercado en aquellas añadas en las que la calidad de las uvas es excepcional. La cosecha 2014 cumplió con las expectativas de la Maison Bollinger. De corte clásico, estamos ante un champagne tremendamente gastronómico. La riqueza de su textura, su efervescencia cremosa y su fino toque salino hacen de él un compañero ideal para los platos refinados e ingredientes de gran calidad.

Ficha técnica

La bodega
Maison Bollinger
Tipo
Champagne
Añada
2014
Grado
12.0% vol.
Variedad
61% de Pinot noir, 39% Chardonnay
Origen
Champagne

Cata

Vista
De color dorado.
Nariz
Afrutada, precisa y ligeramente yodada. Los aromas de cereza y de limón dan paso a las notas de membrillo y de bergamota. En una segunda fase, se aprecian apuntes de avellana, de almendra, de ciruela mirabel y de melocotón.
Boca
Se abre con una efervescencia fina e intensa, seguida de una vinosidad agradable y equilibrada por una acidez delicada. Su finísima textura y el toque salino final le confieren una gran presencia en boca. Un vino aéreo que se va desplegando progresivamente y acaba mostrando todo su potencial e intensidad.
Temperatura de servicio
Entre 6 y 8 ºC.
Consumo
Hasta 2045 si se conserva en óptimas condiciones.
Maridaje
Ideal con marisco y pescados, con flores de calabacín, con foie gras y con elaboraciones con notas cítricas o de mantequilla.

Viñedo y elaboración

Descripción
Las uvas pertenecen a 19 crus, mayoritariamente Aÿ y Verzenay para la Pinot noir y Chouilly et Oiry para la Chardonnay.
Clima
Continental.
Cosecha
Vendimia manual en pequeñas cajas.
Vinificación
Uso exclusivo del cuvée (primera prensa). Fermentación únicamente en barricas de roble pequeñas.
Envejecimiento
La segunda fermentación se realiza en botellas cerradas con tapones de corcho. La maduración duró más de dos veces lo que señala la norma de la D.O.
Embotellado
Dosificación moderada de 8 gramos por litro. Removido y degollado a mano.

Opinión de los críticos

Falstaff:

A lovely savoury edge – almost of salty maple syrup – appears on the subtle, salty nose. The palate is taut in shape but rich and generous in flavour, reminiscent of apple streusel with a serene, creamy, smooth texture that is carried and defined by freshness. The mousse is fine, the shape is taut, there is a mouth-watering and appetising saltiness that carries this forward but the creamy richness – of salty buttery streusel – is undeniable. Splendid now, certain to evolve. Utterly fresh, bright, vivid.

The Wine Advocate:

Offering up complex aromas of crisp yellow orchard fruit, confit citrus, frangipane, walnuts, dried white flowers and subtle hints of iodine, Bollinger's 2014 Brut La Grande Année is medium to full-bodied, pillowy and vinous, with an elegantly fleshy core of fruit that's underpinned by racy acids and complemented by a pretty pinpoint mousse. Concluding with a long, chalky finish, this is a charming but precise Grande Année that's more giving and demonstrative than its immediate predecessor, the 2012, but which attains a very similar level of quality in a more challenging vintage—testimony to the serious viticulture that underpins Bollinger's contemporary excellence. - William Kelley. 

Decanter:

The 2014 is very closely linked to the cold vintages, which express the characteristics of the different terroirs, the soil, and therefore the minerality,’ explains Denis Bunner, assistant cellarmaster at Bollinger. ‘This is a vintage of contrasts, with one of the hottest Junes in the last 50 years, but a very cool August, resulting in slow ripening. We harvested from 15 September, for two weeks, which makes it one of our shortest harvests. The most important thing for us was to manage the ripeness in order to obtain the best possible sorting window.’ A blend of 61% Pinot Noir and 39% Chardonnay, this 2014 La Grande Année is from 19 villages, all grands and premiers crus, with 23% coming from Verzenay and 18% from Aÿ. It was aged for six months in small barrels. It has fresh and distinctive notes of lemon, herbs, red berries and gooseberries, and a splendid calcareous frame. The palate is mineral, tense and elegant with a dense structure, a perfectly balanced texture, fine bubbles, and a lingering finish. ‘It presages a future RD (récemment dégorgé or recently disgorged) in the years to come,’ said Denis Bunner. Dosage: 8 g/L. Disgorged: April 2020.

James Suckling:

Plenty of pie-crust and bread-dough aromas with lemon and apple tart. Flint as well. Medium to full body with a creamy texture and lovely elegance. It was a difficult vintage, but this came out nicely. Contrastive. Crisp at the end, even though the mid-palate is fruity. 61% pinot noir and 39% chardonnay. All fermented in barrel. 7 g/l dosage. Drink now.