Bollinger Special Cuvée

Lovely density and a fine-bubble texture. Dried apple and apricot with hints of dried flowers. Medium to full body. with medium-rich fruit. Spice, zest and ginger character. Usually 10% in barrel. 60% pinot noir, 25% chardonnay and 15% pinot meunier. About 40% reserve wine kept in magnums. Always really well done. Drink now.

Bollinger’s NV Special Cuvée knocks it out of the park. Made from 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Meunier, with 30% of the blend brought up in barrels, it boasts a rich, deep, medium to full-bodied style as well as terrific notes of lemon curd, crème brûlée, caramelized stone fruits, and hints of toasty nuttiness that develop with time in the glass. It’s a big, rich Champagne that stays balanced and pure. Beautiful stuff.

As always with this producer, this iconic nonvintage cuvée is dominated by Pinot Noir that gives impressive richness as well as ripe stone fruits. Wood fermentation adds further complexity as does the age of this bottling before release. Drink this Champagne now.

Like its rosé counterpart, the latest release of Bollinger's NV Brut Special Cuvée is showing especially well, bursting from the glass with aromas of honeyed apples, crisp stone fruit, buttery pastry, ripe lemons and fresh walnuts. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and vinous, with a deep core of beautifully ripe fruit, racy acids and a pillowy mousse, it's a charming, characterful wine that proves that Special Cuvée is firmly back where it belongs.

Bollinger's meaty blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 15% Pinot Meunier, with 25% Chardonnay too, seems a bit at odds with its gorgeously elegant bottle silhouette, modelled after the proportions of the house's magnums. But it all comes together when you taste it, the predominantly premier and grand cru grapes working their magic and delivering a full but fresh expression with plenty of appley fruit, cleansing acidity with a lick of lime, and full, briochey aromas.

Medium golden yellow, silver reflections, very fine, lively mousse. Fine yellow fruit, nuances of Golden Delicious apple and mango, a hint of orange and cookie. Full-bodied, balanced, integrated fruit sweetness, finesse-rich acid structure, mineral-salty, lemon salty finish, a multi-faceted companion at the table.