Current Champagne Releases

A round-up of some of this year's finest Champagne releases.

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Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2011

97/100 James Suckling

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Krug Grande Cuvee Edition 169

#169 is composed around the 2013 vintage, a very good year.  A long, late harvest that took place into October under cool conditions has led to a pure fruit, linear profile in 2013 with good taut acidity.  40% reserve wines were added to this  - the oldest 2000, a warm, voluptuous vintage, with 2013 contribuing purity and raciness. 

43% Pinot Noir, 35% Chardonnay and 22% Meunier from 146 wines from 11 different years.

Jancis Robinson awarded Grande Cuvée #169 an impressive 18.5+ points vs. vintage Krug 2008 - 18 pts.  It will come as no surprise to Krug lovers that at this stage, the multi-vintage Grande Cuvee outshines Krug 2008 (to be released later this year).  Krug consider Grande Cuvee the symphony and Krug vintage the soloist, of equal quality, “the finest”, with tremendous complexity, depth and raciness.

"Throbs on the palate with all its vibrancy. Long."
Jancis Robinson

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Cristal 2013

The most iconic Champagne of all is now available in 2013.  This is textbook Cristal from chalky soils under glorious summer sunshine.  Harvest in early October was cooler, and the resulting Champanes are elegant and fresh. Not yet tasted by the critics.

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Bollinger B13

A Blanc de Noirs from the turbulent 2013 harvest in Champagne made from 92% Grands Crus and 8% Premiers Crus.

"A Blanc de Noirs from 5 villages where half consists of equal shares of Aÿ and Verzenay. As you know, Verzenay and Aÿ are the dominant villages in Bollinger's vintage champagnes. Verzenay is often the chalky and mineral-packed backbone of Bollinger's vintage construction and Aÿ yield the embraced generous rich Pinot Noir that gives Bollinger's wines such muscle strength. Here, the balance of the two is accompanied by red fruits and spices from the three other villages that is playing the second violin in this symphony. Because it is precisely the symphonic harmony that impresses most when the wine in large parts is youthfully fruity and anything but finished. Notes of strawberries, pineapple, banana and pear will over time be blown off for more nutty and powdery smoke dominated notes with great depth and wonderful seriousness. Personally, I will wait as long as I can before I open my own bottles to get the increasing depth of grilled hazelnut aroma that only storage can provide?"
92-94 Richard Juhlin

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Bollinger PN VZ 16

The second vintage of this charming and elegantly balanced Blanc de Noirs.

"Soft, open-knit and wonderfully inviting PN VZ 16 is a worthy follow up to the sublime 2015 that launched this new Blanc de Noirs in the Bollinger range last year. Sweet red cherry, Mirabelle, spice, mint and dried flowers all grace this wonderfully translucent, expressive Blanc de Noirs. North-facing sites in Verzenay that confer tension and energy make up about half the blend, with wines from Aÿ, Bouzy and Louvois playing supporting roles. Vinification is done in equal parts steel and oak. This release is based on 2016 (50% of the blend), with reserve wines that go back to 2006, including 23% from reserve magnums. Readers who enjoy Blanc de Noirs will adore the PN VZ 16. I find the interplay of vibrancy and the creamier notes that are so typical of the house style to be incredibly appealing. Dosage is 6 grams per liter."
93 Antonio Galloni, Vinous?

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Bollinger La Grande Annee Rose 2012

2012 was an exceptional vintage in particular for Pinot Noir, which was lush and concentrated, and small in quantity.  Great at Bollinger, where Pinot is dominant.

La Grande Année Rosé has always been an extraordinary rosé, made using 5% still red wine from Bollinger’s famous south-facing vineyard “Côte aux Enfants” (Ay Grand Cru Pinot Noir) added to the vintage LGA Champagne.  

Deep rose gold with heady aromas, LGA Rosé is a Burgundy-styled Champagne with depth and character.

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Bollinger R.D. Extra Brut 2007

Bollinger's luxury cuvee, "R.D." has now been given an 2007 release.

Only the best are elevated to R.D. status, where the flagship La Grande Annee is given additional ageing on its lees for 13 years before being "recently disgorged", when it shows optimal maturity and maximum freshness.  

RD 2007 is a blend of  70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay,  with strict selection (fruit from 14 villages used, instead of the usual 18-25) and production is down around 10% on 2004, the last rendition.  Bollinger made exceptional 2007s, as Richard Juhlin explains: “the powerful house style often shines brighter during lighter vintages than the years when the heat dominates and creates inflated fruit bombs.  The vintage wines from Bollinger are top of my list from 2007.”

Unique to Bollinger, fermentation in small oak barrels and ageing under cork imparts roundness, and great intensity, and takes the aromatics to another level. Given its long maturation and hand-made, small production, Bollinger RD is incredibly well-priced, especially when compared to other aged prestige cuvees in the market.

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Bollinger La Grande Annee 2012

Bollinger's flagship vintage Champagne La Grande Annee is always appealing priced.  The "vibrant and wonderfully nuanced" 2012 vintage was disgorged in July 2019, a blend of 65% Pinot Noir and 35% Chardonnay that shows wonderful freshness and complexity.  An exceptional vintage for the Champagne region and in particular for Pinot Noir.

"The attack is stunningly intense and the weight in the oral cavity leaves nothing left to wish for. Resilient energy and fullness are combined with greatness. Anyone who has patience will be rewarded with truffled flavor layers, chocolate saturated complexity and added exoticism of honeysuckle in the wine's bouquet."
Richard Juhlin

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Cuvee William Deutz 2008

Only made in the finest vintages, Cuvee William Deutz is the top release from Deutz and the 2008 edition may be the finest of the modern era.

“The finest vintages of William Deutz display profound contrasts and contradictions, juxtaposing the exacting precision of the house with the intensity of pinot noir, and it is in the most energetic vintages that this accord finds its most alluring expression. No season exemplifies this more magnificently than 2008. It is built around depth and breadth, charged with an incredible display of the freshness of Deutz, and elevated and energised by ultra-fine, chalk-rich minerality that attains new heights of expression in this profound season. For all of its contrasts, it crucially maintains seamless persistence of breathtaking lightness. Youthful endurance is declared in vibrant lemon zest and young summer-fruit freshness, quietly touched with depth of brioche, ginger, vanilla nougat and toast. A prominent, mouth-enveloping, silky cloud of chalk dust is the grand highlight of a mesmerising finish, riding a laser-line of acidity of the utmost elegance… One of the greatest Deutz cuvées of the modern era.”
Tyson Stelzer

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