Bollinger, La Grande Année Brut, 2018
Bollinger, La Grande Année Brut, 2018
- 75cl
- 12%
- White Sparkling
- Pinot Noir, Chardonnay
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Optimal drinking window: 2030 - 2048
La Grande Année is Bollinger's prestige cuvée, and the 2018 is one of the most compelling releases in years. Bollinger have always been the Champenois who play by their own rules: high Pinot Noir content, fermentation in old oak barrels, extended ageing on lees, and the 2018 vintage gave them exceptional raw material to work with. A warm, generous growing season delivered ripe, structured fruit without sacrificing the house's signature grip and weight.
This is Champagne with genuine backbone - the Honest Grapes team were absolutely blown away when tasting the wine at the estate. Even better, it comes in at 15% less than the previous Grande Année release. Bravo to the Bollinger team!
What the critics say:
"In the generous, precocious 2018 season, Bollinger chose to anchor La Grande Année in a resolutely classical register. Particularly satisfied with the authority of their Pinot Noir, the backbone is drawn from Aÿ, Verzenay and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. The Chardonnays come principally from Avize, Chouilly and Cuis, but in total, 19 grands and premiers crus contribute to the assemblage. The bouquet is immediately expressive, unfolding with ripe orchard fruit, yellow apple and poached pear, layered with Mirabelle plum, dried meadow flowers and a touch of sun-warmed straw. Aeration reveals subtle hints of light pastry and spice. On the palate, the texture is broad and finely chiselled, carried by a persistent salinity. The phenolic maturity of the warm vintage lends structure, framing the lush fruit. Despite its early approachability, there is no heaviness; instead, the wine combines suppleness with vibrancy, finishing long and seamless. Already gratifying yet clearly built for graceful evolution."
"Bollinger’s 2018 La Grande Année is quite pretty and delicate. Floral and citrus notes are nicely lifted in a Grande Année that offers notable sensuality and grace. Hints of orchard fruit, chamomile, mint and chalk build through the mid-palate and into the taut, chiseled finish. There’s plenty of energy and focus. More importantly, this is a fine effort in a year marked by high yields in Champagne. I would give this a few years in the cellar. The 2018 is 66% Pinot Noir and 34% Chardonnay from 19 villages, 73% Grand Cru and 37% Premier Cru. The core villages are Aÿ, Verzenay and Mareuil for Pinot Noir and Avize, Chouilly and Cuis for the Chardonnay. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: March 2025"
Bollinger's heartland is the Aÿ Grand Cru, where deep chalk beneath thin topsoil gives wines their signature minerality and precision. The Montagne de Reims and Côte des Blancs round out the blend, adding lift and finesse. The chalk subsoil acts as both a thermal regulator and a reservoir of moisture, keeping vines balanced even in warmer years like 2018. That chalk signature — a dry, almost saline persistence — is the thread running through every La Grande Année.
Champagne is the northernmost major wine region of France, and the only place in the world legally permitted to produce wine labelled Champagne. The AOC covers around 34,000 hectares across five main sub-zones, all sharing the region's defining chalk geology. Strict rules govern everything from permitted grape varieties (predominantly Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier) to minimum lees ageing — prestige cuvées like La Grande Année must spend at least three years on lees before disgorgement. It remains the benchmark against which all other sparkling wines are measured.
The 2018 growing season in Champagne arrived like a gift after several challenging years. Spring brought warm, dry conditions that encouraged healthy flowering, followed by a summer that stayed remarkably consistent without the extreme heat spikes that can shut down photosynthesis. Rain arrived precisely when the vines needed it in late summer, plumping the grapes without diluting their flavour concentration. The harvest began in late August under sunny skies, with growers reporting some of the healthiest fruit they'd seen in years.
What emerged from this kindness was a vintage that marries immediate charm with serious structure. The Chardonnay shows beautiful purity and tension without the sometimes austere backbone of cooler years, while Pinot Noir developed lovely depth of colour and ripe red fruit character that speaks clearly through the bubbles. We find these wines drinking beautifully now, offering both the fresh exuberance that makes Champagne so joyful and the underlying complexity that will reward patience. Most 2018s will hit their stride over the next five to eight years, though the finest cuvées have the backbone to age gracefully well beyond that.
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