Bollinger Grande Annee Brut Champagne 1999

View Larger

Share this page:

• Facebook
• Twitter

Snoothrank:

Starting at: $89^.99

14 Reviews

Add a review

Winery:

Bollinger

Varietals:

Pinot Noir , Chardonnay , Pinot Meunier

Region:

France > Champagne

Type:

Sparkling Wine

Color:

White

Drink Dates:

Drink Now - 2011

UPC:

12086496810000,
12086695510000,
86891075580000

User Tags:  rich, complex, style, sauternes and barsac classification, blend, first growths, 1855 medoc classification, finest, big, wine enthusiast 

Customers Also Bought

• Moet & Chandon Champagne Imperial Vintage 1998

  Snoothrank: 4/5 Starting at $55.99 USD
• Billecart-Salmon Champagne Clos Saint-Hilaire 1996

  Snoothrank: 4/5 Starting at $449.00 USD

• Bollinger Champagne Grande Année 1995

  Snoothrank: 4/5 Starting at $306.00 USD
• Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires Brut 1995

  Snoothrank: 4/5 Starting at $99.00 USD

What to Expect

Champagne is specifically a sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France; every other sparkling is simply that, sparkling wine. Made to be aged for a few to many years, in many languages "Champagne" is synonymous with "party". When young, Champagne exhibits the fresh fruit tones of its "cepage", or blend. Usually based on a blend the features either Chardonnay or Pinot Noir as its main ingredient, Champagne's fruit can range from citrusy to orchard fruits and even red berries. The wine gains distinct yeasty notes from its secondary fermentation, the one that adds the fizz, which is typically described as recalling brioche or bread. As it ages Champagne tends to lose its obvious fruit, which is replaced by subtle nutty tones and subdued elements of dried fruits.

Winemakers Notes

La Grande Année is the Prestige Cuvée of Champagne Bollinger.
It is only produced when exceptional quality harvests occur, and is the expression of Bollinger’s know-how.
More than the illustration of the vintage particularity, La Grande Année is the result of the Bollinger style,
of its exceptional “terroir” and traditional wine making techniques.
La Grande Année develops a beautiful rounded structure and combines rich, complex and intense aromas,
the expression of which changes according to the characteristics of the vintage.

An read more...exclusive blend of Grands Crus and Premiers Crus

The grapes come exclusively from Grands and Premiers Crus.
17 villages have entered in the 1999 blend, 82% from Grands Crus and 18% from Premiers Crus.
The blend of La Grande Année 1999 is composed of:
o - 63% Pinot Noir
o - 37% Chardonnay

Winemaking process

* ● La Grande Année is exclusively produced with the wines from the “cuvée” juice (the first 2,050 litres out of 2,550 extracted from a “marc”: 4,000 kg of grapes).
* ● The first fermentation of La Grande Année is always 100% carried out in oak barrels, which has become quite unique in Champagne.
* ● The Crus are fermented in small oak barrels (205, 225 and 410 litres), which enables a rigorous selection.
* Bollinger only uses old barrels (5 years and more), in order to generate neither an oaky taste nor tannins. This method reinforces the aromatic complexity and the ageing potential of the wines. ● Once the wine bottled, the carbonic fermentation and cellar ageing are conducted under natural cork.
* This enables a better protection against oxidization compared with a metal crown cap. This method, nowadays very seldom used in Champagne, is a guarantee of freshness. It allows for the aromas to preserve all their bouquet. ● La Grande Année ages in the cellars for at least 6 years and more.
* ● After manual disgorgement, La Grande Année benefits from a low dosage (7 to 9 G/L) and then rests for a minimum of 3 months prior to shipment.
This is the necessary time for the wine to digest completely the “liqueur d’expédition” (dosage) and to recover for a perfect balance.    (hide)

Explore