Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvee NV

Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvee was created in 1911. The name Special Cuvee was suggested by William Folks, partner at the illustrious London House of Mentzendorff, and Bollinger’s UK agents, who felt that the term “non-vintage” was not good enough for a wine of such quality.

Champagne Bollinger can trace its origins back to 1829 when the company was established by Jacques Bollinger. It remains, to this day, one of the few independently, family-owned Champagne houses. Like most Champagne houses Bollinger uses grapes from their own vineyards and also buys fruit in from growers. Bollinger own some 164 hectares of vineyards in the best Premier Cru and Grand Cru sites, the majority of which is Pinot Noir, therefore most of Bollinger’s Champagnes have a higher proportion of Pinot Noir than most other Champagne.

The blend for Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvee is 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier, 85% of which are from Premier and Grand Crus. Bollinger only uses the juice from the first pressing of the grapes which helps produce a purer and finer must. Blending and storage of the wine takes place under the watchful eye of Chef de Cave Mathieu Kauffmann in Aÿ. Special Cuvee contains a high proportion of reserve wines that are either fermented in oak casks or stainless steel, that are then aged in magnum bottles in the cellars for up to 12 to 15 years, but for a minimum of 5 years – it is the blending of the reserve wines that add depth and complexity to the wine whilst helping to maintain the consistency of the non-vintage wine, something that all Champagne houses strive for. Dosage is 8-9 g/L.

Bollinger has a long assocation with James Bond and is mentioned by name in the films Live and Let Die, The Living Daylights, Die Another Day and Casino Royale etc.