Champagne Bollinger

About the Winery

The famous house was founded in 1829 in Aÿ by Joseph Bollinger, a wine merchant from Württemberg. It has remained family-owned, although since 2008 it has been chaired by a person outside the family (Charles-Armand de Belenet since 2017). With a vineyard of 180 hectares (mostly Grand and Premier Crus), dominated by Pinot Noir (60%), Bollinger has its own cooperage workshop. The house maintains its style based on skillful blending of wines vinified separately in used oak barrels (to avoid dominant woodiness) and in small-capacity vats. Reserve wines are often kept in magnums under 'petite mousse' (light foam). Bottling is done under cork and the wines benefit from long aging on lees. After Gilles Descôtes left in 2023, Denis Bunner, who joined in 2013, took over as chef de cave. Bollinger is famous for its two unique plots that resisted phylloxera - Chaudes Terres and Clos Saint-Jacques - which still produce the rare Vieilles Vignes Françaises cuvée. Known as 'Bolly' in Britain, Bollinger has been James Bond's favorite Champagne.

“A legendary family Champagne house since 1829, with 180 hectares of mostly Grand and Premier Cru vineyards, famous for its Pinot Noir dominance and used-oak vinification.”