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Bollinger - La Grande Annee 2005
- Producer
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Blend
30% Chardonnay
70% Pinot Noir - Country France
- UPC 0 15643 42857 9
Vintage
After a cold 2004, the 2005 season returned to a higher than average annual temperature. Like 2004, it was a dry year, with annual rainfall well below average. There were many hot days, particularly in June and July. September began with rain, but ended dry and sunny, promising a high-quality harvest.
Estate
Family-owned since 1829 and based in the village of Aÿ in the heart of the Champagne region, Champagne Bollinger is revered around the world for its elegant and complex champagnes produced from their exceptional vineyards, with an emphasis on the Pinot Noir grape, and a uniquely rigorous nurturing of their wines. Bollinger's carefully farmed 400 acres of primarily Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards make them one of the most important vineyard owners in all of Champagne. The family's tenacity in continuing with labor-intensive handriddling, vinification in small, old casks, and long aging of reserve wines in magnums under cork, results in Champagnes of true individuality and excellence.
Vineyard
95% of the fruit was sourced from Grand Cru villages and 5% from Premier Cru villages. The Pinot Noir comes predominantly from Äy and Verzenay, the
Chardonnay from Avize, Chouilly and Mesnil-sur-Oger.
Wine
The vintage-dated La Grande Annee is only produced in exceptional years, and is rightly known as one of the world's greatest Champagnes. The 2005 vintage has a slightly higher amount of Pinot Noir (70%) than usual, with Chardonnay rounding out the rest of the blend (30%). It is exceptionally
approachable now, as 2005 was a rather warm year, with high levels of ripeness. The wine boasts excellent freshness, as well as Bollinger's traditional richness.
Vinification
La Grande Annee is vinified entirely in older oak barrels, and undergoes its second fermentation under cork, rather than under crown capsule. The wine spent approximately 6 years on the lees, and has a moderate dosage of 6 grams per liter.