Bollinger La Grande Année 2015 nella cassa di legno

Grande Année è davvero grande nell'annata calda 2015

Potenza e intensità eccezionali

Equilibrato grazie a un'acidità sorprendente

Il 2015 si affronta con una certa dose di scetticismo, ma La Grande Année 2015 ci ha entusiasmato. Soprattutto dopo alcune ore all'aria è chiaro che abbiamo nel bicchiere un classico grande Bollinger Vintage. Dopo la piacevole e raffinata annata 2014, arriva un La Grande Année 2015 estremamente concentrato e corposo, che ricorda il giovane Bollinger Vintage 1976. I Chardonnay provenienti da zone fresche come Grauves garantiscono una buona acidità. Il palato non è vago e morbido, ma sostenuto da una mineralità salina e frizzante, che offre precisione e freschezza come importanti contrappunti alla potenza. La percentuale di Chardonnay è leggermente più alta, al 40%, e c'è una grande quota di vini provenienti da Avize e Vezernay. Ancora una volta sono state utilizzate barrique più recenti per la microossidazione, rispetto a qualche anno prima. Questo conferisce al La Grande Année 2015 una speziatura di quercia molto discreta ma deliziosa. Aromaticamente ricorda frutti gialli e mele rosse, nocciola, cuoio, nougat e tabacco. 

Richard Juhlin champagneclub.com 93(95). ... 2015 is generally a problematic vintage with heat stress and a period of drought. There is no art to get richness and power in the wines, but elegance and freshness are rare. Because Bollinger's house style is inherently so masculinely powerful, Bollinger's eminent team focused on preserving freshness first and foremost. According to Denis Bunner, Bollinger felt that the grapes they had access to gave more typicity and greater elegance to the Chardonnay this time. Hence a slightly higher content of the green grape than in the original recipe. Perhaps even more important was the choice of Avize and Verzenay as engines. Verzenay behaves in many ways like Chardonnay with its chalky elegance and great purity. This time the shares of Aÿ and Verzenay were equal for once. Fat Cramant and Oger were now downplayed and Avize was primarily supported by tight Chouilly. An interesting detail that reduces tannin, clumsiness and contributes to an increased sense of freshness is, oddly enough, oak barrels. This is due to its great age and the company's strict selection of the best casks that only provide micro oxidation. The color is already deep golden with a fine stream of tiny bubbles fighting their way up through the glycerol-rich concentrated wine. Intense and rich and at the same time nuanced and complex. The small concentrated grapes ultimately produced an ultimate gastronomic masterpiece. The scent cannonade is classic Bollinger, but fresh and more nuanced than I expected from the vintage. Stone fruits, honeysuckle, honey, plum marmalade, Cox Orange, raspberry, almond, hazelnut, leather, tanned skin, cigar, and duck liver are all clear instruments in the orchestra playing their richly generous vintage anthem. The freshness does not come from acidity this time, but from lack of water and concentrated extracts in a similar way as the even more extreme 2003. In the finish I find tobacco, forest aromas and chocolate with sea salt, a delicious combination. Precisely the saltiness and the slightly higher tannin content contribute to making this a perfect partner for poultry in all its forms.

750 ml

12.5

Champagne

Pinot Noir & Chardonnay

Solfiti

• Brut

Francia

Champagne Bollinger, 16 Rue Jules Lobet, 51160 Ay, France