“Fresh, leafy notes to the cassis aromas, but not over the top, with roasted spices and cedar. Fresh and juicy on the palate with fresh, blue-fruit flavors, a spicy-oak kick and linear, full tannin.” 

Its an exciting launch week for Champagne Bollinger, releasing both the La Grande Année and La Grande Année Rose 2014 vintage. Both Antonio Galloni of Vinous Media, and William Kelley of The Wine Advocate wrote glowing reviews.

William Kelley offers some insight into the harvest decisions going into this years cuvee, and noted that the Champagne house used an unusually high percentage of Chardonnay than in years past. He describes these two wines as “Very elegant, precise, giving Champagnes, with all the mid-palate intensity one expects from Bollinger but defined more by purity than by power.” Read the full story HERE

Antonio Galloni gives the 2014 La Grande Annee 98 points, noting “The 2014 La Grande Année is stunning. In fact, it is one of the best recent editions I can remember tasting.”

“The 2014 is a blend taken from 19 villages, 61% Pinot Noir and 39% Chardonnay instead of the more typical 70/30 mix. For the second time in two decades (the first was 2007), Verzenay takes the lead in the Pinots over Aÿ, more or less an inverse from the norm. Verzenay, a north-facing village in the Montagne de Reims that saw less rain than Aÿ and most of the Vallée de la Marne, yields Pinots of energy more than volume. That, married with Chardonnays mostly from the Côtes des Blancs (predominantly Chouilly, Vertus, Oiry and Cramant), results in a truly magical Grande Année that will delight Champagne fans for several decades. I can’t recommend the 2014 highly enough. It’s a total knock-out.” – AG

Food & Wine rounded up 15 Affordable French White Wines recently, and included Guigal in the lineup.

“The E. Guigal Côtes du Rhône Blanc, for example, is a charming, effusive winner vintage after vintage—and can be found for well under $20.” The author also notes that this is a go-to that everyone should have in regular rotation at their house.

All of the wines listed are under $25 and the full article can be found HERE

Wine & Spirits highlighted this “Dense, Opulent St-Joseph” in their Wine of the Week article for February 21st.

“A wine as elegant as it is firm, almost forbidding in its polished, well-oaked facade.” They advise to wait at least ten years to enjoy this wine, though they noted that wine remained unchanged in their bottle for many days.

Wine Spectator’s Tim Fish writes a “casual, non-blind tasting of Oregon Wines all 20 years or older.” About 24 wines were tasted. Ponzi brought a duo of Chardonnays from 1995, 1997 and 2003

Pinot Noir was the main event, and the oldest was a Ponzi Willamette Valley 1980, pulled from the cellar by Ponzi and produced by her father, Dick. “Just mostly for historical fun,” she said. The group relished the chance to taste a Pinot from Oregon’s early years.

Ponzi, whose family is one of Oregon’s wine pioneers, hosted the tasting at her winery. Gathered around a big table were many other long-standing Willamette Valley winemakers, including Argyle founder Soles, who focuses now on Roco; Elk Cove’s Adam Campbell; Bethel Heights’ Ben Casteel; David Millman, managing director of Domaine Drouhin Oregon; and Mike Etzel of Beaux Frères and Sequitur. Eric Hamacher, Lynn Penner-Ash and Tony Soter were also in attendance.

Robb Report rounded up 17 Wines that fit in the “could-cellar” but “should-drink” category. Sarah Schneider says “But what about the slightly lesser occasions? The Friday night when your taste buds need waking up and you deserve to drink a really interesting bottle, no matter what’s for dinner? I’m here to help. I recently concentrated on wines that would set you back less than $100, and I can report that the world’s your proverbial oyster on this front!”

Bollinger Rosè Brut is not only the sole sparkling wine in the article but the only rosè , and merely one other French wine made the cut.

“From Bollinger, a house that knows its way with Pinot Noir, comes a saturated-salmon-colored Brut Rosé that juggles power, weight and brightness. The nose swirls with dried cranberry, fuzzy peach and tropical flowers followed by intense flavors of red apple, raspberry, cherry, tangerine zest and almond delivered by exuberant bubbles, bright with citrus. A splash of still Pinot Noir—5 to 6 percent—provides mid-palate density that avoids heaviness with vivid textures, even with significant tannins.”

Fran Miller of Haute Living San Francisco writes that the “vinous output is as eclectic as Sonoma County” itself. Although 60 different grape varieties are grown in Sonoma, Chardonnay is the most abundant.

Gary Farrell 2019 Olivet Lane Chardonnay is from the Pellegrini Olivet Lane Vineyard which was planted in 1975. It is an excellent environment for growing Chardonnay, with low temperatures, fog intrusion and well-drained soils. Miller notes that “The first sip is succulent and tangy, while the mid-palate is zesty with lots of verve. It finishes with a silky pop of acidity.”

Drink Hacker’s Christopher Null is ready to usher in the warmer weather with a glass of Russian River Selection Chardonnay, by Gary Farrell Winery. He writes, “You can rarely go wrong with Gary Farrell’s Russian River Selection chardonnay. This 2019 expression has all the trimmings, balancing apple and vanilla notes with a crisp lemon-driven acidity. A beautiful wine at a price that seems remarkably reasonable considering the quality. $35“

Upscale Living‘s Kevin Pilley says “Women are Champagne, forget the monks. Women are the mothers of Champagne.”

The story titled “True Champagne Dames” highlights Lily Bollinger and Caroline Latrive as female pioneers in the Champagne space. Writer Kevin Pilley tells the story of several monumental women in the history of Champagne and includes the famous quote from Lily, “I drink Champagne when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company, I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it—unless I’m thirsty.”

The news of the new vintage was included in today’s “News Briefs”, which provides an overview of the prestige cuvée and the global culinary program. The write up notes that “Champagne Bollinger has partnered with chefs Gabriel Kreuther in the U.S, Christopher Coutanceau in France, Eric Kragh Vidgaard in Denmark, Fabrizio Mellino in Italy, and Viki Geunes in Belgium to create special pairing menus to go with La Grande Année.”