The Drinks Business reports on a class led by Bollinger cellar master Denis Bunner in Hong Kong. Bunner spent a full decade studying disgorgement while he was at the Comité Champagne. He pointed out that the subject is both not so well understood, and underestimated. The great insight he offers is to imagine that disgorgement can provide as much as oxygen in one event as aging a Champagne for 20 years in a cellar.
The other major point Bunner delved into was the barrel fermentation that is such a foundation of Bollinger’s approach to winemaking. More specifically, how the barrel aging protects the wine by in effect “vaccinating” it against oxygen.
The full article can be read here.
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Champagne Bollinger
Champagne, France
Bollinger is one of the rare Grande Marques that’s still family owned. Known for its rich, elegant and polished style of Champagne, their outstanding wines are the result of rigorous attention to detail and incredibly labor-intensive practices that few houses are willing to undertake. Underscoring its excellence, Bollinger has remained British secret agent James Bond's Champagne of choice since 1973.