'La Grande Année Rosé' Champagne AOC Bollinger 2014

The Grande Année Rosé champagne from the Bollinger maison is produced, as the label suggests, only in exceptional vintages, i.e. those in which the vintage and the grapes are of excellent quality, such as to constitute the premise for the production of a great champagne. The product can be imagined as a nectar that condenses the territorial identity, the vintage, the extraordinary grapes and the indispensable savoir faire of the maison in one sip. The grapes used for Bollinger's Grande Année Rosé are Pinot noir, coming from Aÿ and Chardonnay grown in Oger and Cramant, therefore Gran Cru territories. The careful harvesting of the bunches takes place strictly by hand, to be subsequently followed by a soft pressing at a controlled temperature. Vinification and fermentation take place in wooden barrels. Then begins the sparkling process with the traditional Champenoise method. The wines destined for this cuvée are bottled in magnum format (1.5 litres) and closed with a cork stopper during the second fermentation, instead of the traditional capsule (bidule). In this way a continuous and infinitesimal oxidation process is obtained, very slow, which brings more complexity and more maturity to the wine, preserving an exceptional freshness. The rest on the lees lasts, at least, 5 years. The disgorgement operations are manual, the final dosage is Brut, therefore with very few grams of sugar (7 g). Coral color, charming and light, immediately elegant notes of raspberries, pomegranate, currants and strawberries. It is a large, delicate, but dry, clear-cut, precise champagne. In the mouth it is intense, sapid, with silky, elegant, rhythmic bubbles. Marked acidity. It is not very full-bodied, but persistent yes. It could certainly evolve into even more complex and full-bodied sensations with time: without a doubt, all the makings are there!