A recent study proved that Champagne may be stored equally well standing upright as horizontal. The pressure inside the bottle ensures the cork does not shrink and dry out for many years. Champagne is sensitive to light and warmth and should always be stored somewhere dark and cool. This notion of time does not stop here. At Bollinger we let nature run its course; if the harvest does not reach vintage standards, we wait until the following year or even the year after that, so that quality always prevails over quantity. To take this idea even further, only the La Grande Année vintages with exceptional ageing potential will be left several years longer in the cellars, to become the famous Bollinger R.D. cuvées, delighting the taste buds of the most exacting tasters. Over the years, Bollinger has built its vineyards at the heart of the finest crus in Champagne. Champagne Bollinger’s 179 hectares of vines are made up of 85% Grand and Premier crus and are farmed by our teams of growers across 7 separate vineyards: Aÿ, Avenay, Tauxières, Louvois and Verzenay for pinot noir, around the Montagne de Reims, Cuis for chardonnay on the Côte des Blancs and Champvoisy for meunier in the Vallée de la Marne.

The most significant period of its history was from 1941 to 1977, the tenure of Madame“Lilly” Bollinger, who expanded production significantly and was ahead of her time in travelling the world to promote the brand. Around this time Bollinger also acquired some of its precious pinot noir vineyards, using the grapes in the production of its two rosés. Champagne is made from chardonnay, pinot noir or pinot meunier grapes (there are one or two other permitted varieties but these are very rare) grown on chalky hillsides within a strictly demarcated region centred on the twin towns of Reims and Epernay, some 90 miles east of Paris. After hand harvesting, each grape variety is vinified separately, and in the following spring, the wines are blended unless a blancs de blancs is to made in which case any blending will be from parcels of chardonnay that were vinified separately. Yeast and sugar are added, and the wine is bottled for its second fermentation which creates the bubbles, or mousse. Which grapes are included in the blend, and their proportion, is one of the key factors determining the style of most Champagnes. Three grapes are used - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Another of Bollinger’s distinctive features are two plots, the Clos Saint-Jacques and Chaudes Terres, which have never succumbed to phylloxera. These ungrafted vines are entirely tended by hand and reproduced using a form of layering called provignage, thereby providing the means to preserve this extraordinary heritage from which the very exclusive Vieilles Vignes Françaises cuvée is produced.

Bollinger PN AYC18 Pinot Noir Brut Champagne 75cl in Box

Having tasted the wine it is certainly overtly fruity, with layers of fresh to dried apple flavours, with a persistent salty and chalky finish. Champagne Bollinger have been creating prestigious champagnes with character, distinguished by their elegance and complexity, since 1829. The story began when the son of a noble family, Athanase de Villermont, inherited an extensive estate in the Aÿ region. Foreseeing the extraordinary potential of the wines of Champagne, he founded the firm Renaudin-Bollinger & Cie upon meeting Joseph Bollinger, a widely travelled German and Paul Renaudin, a local man fascinated by the world of wine. Nearly two hundred years later, Bollinger are one of the biggest names in the region and are famously the preferred champagne brand of fictional British Secret Service agent, James Bond.

Brut denotes a dry style of Champagne (less than 15 grams per litre). Most Champagne is non-vintage, produced from a blend from different years. The non-vintage blend is always based predominately on wines made from the current harvest, enriched with aged wines (their proportion and age varies by brand) from earlier harvests, which impart an additional level of complexity to the end wine. Champagnes from a single vintage are labelled with the year reference and with the description Millésimé. The least planted of the three main grapes, chardonnay is still a crucial partner, bringing elegance and finesse to a blend. When grown so far north, acidity levels in chardonnay are high, but this is essential for wines to have longevity, and to ensure that the finished blend doesn't taste flabby. It is this acidity that marks the finesse and precision of these fine sparkling wines. Champagnes with a high proportion of chardonnay are generally the most elegant and pure styles and make wonderful aperitifs. Champagnes made solely from chardonnay are known as blanc de blancs ('white of whites'). PN VZ16 is the second interpretation in a new series that will be released every year, always with a focus on one of Bollinger’s Pinot Noir crus, or villages. Each year the cuvee will be an expression of a different cru from the base year that highlight's its distinctive terroir and taste. PN VZ16 highlights Verzenay (VZ) which makes up 50% of the blend with the balance from Avenay and Tauxières. The blend features 50% from 2016 and 50% of Bollinger's reserve wines with the oldest from 2006. of vineyards in Champagne are planted with Chardonnay and it performs best on the Côtes des Blancs and on the chalk slopes south of Epernay. It is relatively simple to grow, although it buds early and thus is susceptible to spring frosts. It produces lighter, fresher wines than those from Burgundy and gives finesse, fruit and elegance to the final blend. It is the sole grape in Blancs de Blancs, which are some of the richest long-lived Champagnes produced. Created under strict conditions in the Champagne region of France, Bollinger Special Cuvée's unique taste is the result of blending freshly harvested grapes with reserve wines to achieve the familiar, Pinot-strong mix. It features fruity undertones with a rich velvety texture. The nose has hints of brioche, with undertones of fig and spice. This is a dry, rather than sweet, champagne. The complexity of the taste can be attributed to the age of reserve wines, often up to fifteen years old, which create the multifaceted taste at the heart of the Special Cuvée. The champagne is fermented in oak barrels, which also contribute to the unique taste. The wine pairs well with fish and other seafood, though will generally complement most cuisine. Top Bottles at Low PricesWeather: 2016 trialled the growers with many climatic hazards from excessive rainfalls to frosts, downy mildew, hail, draught and, finally, sunburn. A cool spring saw late-April frost, which cut volumes early on. Mildew was an issue throughout the region (especially in the Côte des Bar), equally diminishing volumes. July and August were then hot and very dry months and the resultant sunburn reduced the yields further. Ripening was uneven, and Chardonnay especially needed time and was thus considered the most difficult variety for the vintage. The first was its longstanding focus on the Pinot Noir grape: Bollinger is based in Champagne’s Pinot heartland, Aÿ, and the producer has a minimum of 60% Pinot in all its expressions, including its Brut NV, Special Cuvée. As mentioned above, PNVZ15 contains 20% reserve wine that has been aged in Bollinger’s cellars in magnums – a practice unique to the house – which is higher than the Special Cuvée NV, which uses 5% of this component.

Whilst we want to say that all of our Bollinger gifts are perfect (which they are), we know that some of our Bollinger gifts are better suited for different occasions. For example, our Bollinger and chocolate hampers are better suited for Valentines, anniversaries and special birthday gifts. Our Bollinger with flute sets are perfect for any anniversary or milestone event. If you're looking to give a gift for a simple occasion, for example, a corporate gift, we recommend our single bottle sets. These are only our recommendations, and we can guarantee that any Bollinger gift you send will make any recipient smile. All of our gifts come with a personal message and can be delivered anywhere in the UK. What is the history of Bollinger?Pinot Noir accounts for nearly 40% of the plantings in Champagne and lies at the heart of most blends - it gives Champagne its body, structure, strength and grip. It is planted across Champagne and particularly so in the southern Aube district. And the person who crafted it was the man who instigated the contest: chef de cave Gilles Descôtes. It is, however, a pure Pinot Noir fizz – otherwise known as a blanc de noirs, even though it doesn’t say this on the label.

Champagne Bollinger owns an impressive 178 hectares of vineyards, of which 85% are in Grand Cru and Premier Cru villages. Their land is spread over seven main villages: Aÿ, Avenay, Louvois, Tauxières and Verzenay planted with Pinot Noir; Cuis with Chardonnay; and Champvoisy with Meunier. Bollinger are one of the few Houses to produce the majority of their own grapes for their blends. Pinot Noir represents 60% of the House's vineyards and defines the House style: complex and powerful with remarkable structure. In 2012 Champagne Bollinger was certified High Environment Value (HEV) this certification rewards a number of environmental procedures implemented at the Maison. Renowned for consistently fantastic quality, Bollinger Special Cuvée is an elegant champagne that is sure to make your evening special. This champagne house has been refining their techniques since 1829, using the unique chalky soil of their vineyards to produce high quality Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes. Known affectionately in the UK as "Bolly", this brand has become a firm favourite and is sure to bring a touch of class to every occasion. The Gift of Good Taste Although de Belenet did not want to reveal production figures for the new Champagne to db, he did say that the pure Pinot cuvée was the same size as Bollinger Grand Année – the vintage prestige cuvée expression from the house. The starting point was to create a little brother of Vieilles Vignes Françaises, because the quantity is very limited and the price is very high,” said de Belenet. Bollinger? If it is a ‘69, you were expecting me.' Moonraker, 1979. Champagne Bollinger continues more than 50 years of 007 and the Bollinger / James Bond relationship. Today Bollinger Champagne remains James Bond's favourite and bears the Royal Warrant. Vintages are produced only in exceptional years from grand and premier cru vineyards.

Wine at a glance

With three full time winemakers at Bollinger, there was a blind tasting of a triumvirate of base wine blends, with the top-performer being a pure Pinot Noir from the grand cru village of Verzenay combined with 20% reserve wine stored in magnum from Bollinger’s cellar. Gilles Descôtes had a crazy idea in 2015: he organised a contest for the wine committee team to produce the best Pinot Noir, with the winner becoming a new cuvée,” recorded de Belenet. We needed something accessible in quantity for global distribution, and accessible in price for Champagne lovers,” he added. This winning blend explains the code name on the front of the bottle: PN VZ15, referencing the fact this new Bollinger cuvée is a Pinot Noir from the cru of Verzenay in the 2015 vintage. And, future expressions of the cuvée will always be pure Pinots, focused on a particular village in Champagne.