Bollinger is one of Champagne’s great houses, defined by independence, meticulous craft, and a steadfast devotion to Pinot Noir. Founded in 1829 in Aÿ by Joseph Bollinger and Paul Renaudin, with the support of Count Athanase de Villermont, the maison has remained family-run for nearly two centuries. Its reputation was cemented in the mid-20th century under the formidable leadership of Lily Bollinger, whose exacting standards and tireless stewardship shaped the modern house style: generous yet precise, complex yet dry, always built for the table and for time.
Vineyards sit at the core of Bollinger’s identity. The estate farms well over 170 hectares, with a strong footprint in Grand and Premier Cru villages, particularly Pinot Noir strongholds such as Aÿ and Verzenay. Owning so much top-tier land gives the house unusual control over fruit quality and vintage definition. Farming is rigorous and increasingly regenerative, with an emphasis on biodiversity and soil health; the goal is concentration without excess, ripeness balanced by line and length.
In the cellar, Bollinger remains famously traditional in ways that matter. A large share of the base wines ferment in old, neutral barrels maintained by the house’s own cooper—something exceedingly rare in Champagne. Vintage wines age on the lees under natural cork (secured with an agrafe) to encourage a finer, more integrated mousse. For the non-vintage Special Cuvée, the blending palette includes an extraordinary library of reserve wines kept in magnums under cork, some spanning a decade or more, which lends depth and continuity without heaviness.
The range is compact and distinctive. Special Cuvée is the signature: Pinot-led, vinous and dry, a benchmark for food-friendly Champagne. La Grande Année and La Grande Année Rosé are vintage bottlings of notable intensity and refinement, while R.D. (“Récemment Dégorgé”) takes late-disgorged complexity to another level, revealing layers of savoury nuance with astonishing freshness. At the rarest end sits Vieilles Vignes Françaises, a micro-cuvée of ungrafted Pinot Noir from two minute clos in Aÿ—one of Champagne’s true unicorns. Recent limited releases, such as the PN series exploring single-cru Pinot expressions, show the house’s curiosity and precision in equal measure.
Beyond technical detail, Bollinger carries a cultural cachet few houses can match. Its long association with cinema and high gastronomy has never overshadowed what’s in the glass; if anything, it underscores the maison’s central idea that great Champagne must be both serious and pleasurable. Across the lineup, the constant is a distinctive combination of power, finesse, and dryness—Champagne with shoulders and shape—built as much for cellaring as for immediate enjoyment.