Bollinger La Grande Annee 2015 (1.5L)

96+ WI / 96 VM / 96 JS / 96 WS / 95+ WA / 94 DE / 17+ JR

#14 Wine Independent Champagne Over $100 2024
#78 James Suckling Top 100 France 2024

Velvety burnished gold in color with near imperceptible fine bubbles, the Grand Année 2015 is a 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay blend of 11 crus, 79% Grands Cru and 21% Premiers Crus, that is 100% barrel fermented, aged 7 years on lees and finished with an 8 grams per liter dosage. It opens toasty and rich with red forest fruit aromas accented by bruised apple, warm spice, Acacia honey, and a refreshing whiff of chalk. Plush and generous, the medium-bodied palate fills out with a seamless depth of orchard fruit concentration lifted by buoyant, finely spun acid energy and a satiny, pinpoint mousse. This 2015 lingers long on the palate and has an attractive kiss of bitterness. Disgorged October 2023. - Sarah Mayo, Wine Independent

Bollinger's 2015 Brut Grand Année is an intriguing wine in that it clearly reflects the decision to pick on the later side - there's real density and textural richness here. This will be a fascinating vintage to follow. Stylistically, it is the complete opposite from the much more linear 2014 that precedes it. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

Enticing, fragrant aromas of toast, lemon zest and an earthy-smoky nuance lead to a palate of subtle Bosc-pear, mango, papaya, even pineapple flavors. Lifted by fresh acidity on the medium-bodied palate, the wine keeps unfolding in toasted walnuts, honey and a dash of bitter marmalade. It’s mouth-filling, alive with acidity and full of finesse. Drink or hold.-James Suckling

This expressive Champagne features a rich, well-spiced range of flavors chiseled by well-honed, integrated acidity, which lends a racy feel to the ripe black cherry and mulberry fruit and notes of salted almond, pink grapefruit granita, crystallized honey and pickled ginger that ride the raw silk–like mousse. Hints of chalk and spring blossoms play on the clean-cut, lasting finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Disgorged May 2023. Drink now through 2040. From France.—A.N., Wine Spectator Insider Hot Wine

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. - William Kelley, Wine Advocate

A forward vintage for La Grande Année, with warmth evident in its roasted orange, Comice pear and Mirabelle plum, all polished with a sense of savoury maturity that is very Bollinger at heart. There’s a little more oxygen influence seemingly at play than in the 2014, with brine, nuts and a little dried leaf character already taking this far beyond fruit. The food-friendly chewiness of 2015 is there, but the mousse is supple and the Chardonnay brings the wine to a close with a fine, cooked lemon snap. This will start to show its best integration from 2025 onwards, although it is open for business now. 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay from the Montagne de Reims, Grande Vallée de la Marne and Côte des Blancs, all fermented in small oak barrels and disgorged in May 2023 after seven years on lees.-Tom Hewson, Decanter

Mid straw. Very deep-flavoured on the nose. Some richness and only the beginning of Bollinger's trademark mushroom flavour which I would expect to develop with time. Lighter on the palate than the nose at the moment. It's currently a little more sprightly than some Grande Années. - Jancis Robinson