LeDomduVin: Champagne Bollinger R.D. 2008. What a mesmerizing champagne!

Champagne Bollinger R.D. 2008

What a mesmerizing champagne!

The history of Champagne Bollinger starts with an unlikely partnership between a French aristocrat, an ambitious German wine merchant, and a passionate local cellar master.

In 1829, Athanase de Villermont, an aristocrat who inherited a vineyard estate in Aÿ but was barred by his noble status from engaging in commercial trade, teamed up with Joseph Bollinger, a German wine merchant who brought his knowledge of international markets, and Paul Renaudin, a local Champagne expert who managed the cellars and winemaking process, to establish the house of Renaudin-Bollinger & Cie, which later became known as Bollinger.

Joseph Bollinger's expertise in international sales and Renaudin's winemaking skills fuelled the company's success, with Bollinger Champagnes becoming highly sought after by European royalty.

The following decades saw the expansion of the estate and the vineyards.

In 1837, Joseph Bollinger married Louise-Charlotte, Athanase’s daughter. His sons, Joseph and later Georges, eventually took over the business. Under their leadership, Bollinger gained fame and significantly expanded its vineyards.

In 1863, Phylloxera was first recorded in France. This pest devastated most wine regions until the early 20th century. Georges Bollinger led the effort to replant vineyards with American rootstocks to combat the phylloxera pest.

In 1920, Jacques Bollinger, Georges’ son, took over managing the family business and is credited with increasing Bollinger’s sales in England, primarily through the popularity of their Special Cuvée Brut. Jacques's wife, Elisabeth Bollinger, better known as “Madame Jacques,” stepped in to run the business after her husband died during World War II.

In 1950, Claude d’Hautefeuille, the husband of Madame Bollinger's niece, whom she had mentored in the company's operations, became Director and initiated a broad modernization effort that honoured Bollinger’s heritage. Madame Bollinger named him Chairman in 1971, but she stayed actively involved until her passing six years afterward.

In 1978, Christian Bizot, Madame Bollinger’s nephew, succeeded Claude as head of the House. An avid traveler, he actively engaged with sommeliers, restaurant owners, and wine merchants to share and promote the House’s wines during his journeys.

In 1994, Ghislain de Montgolfier, the great-great-grandson of founder Joseph Bollinger, became head of the House. He continued to strive to increase quality, in part by limiting production.

In 2008, Jérôme Philipon, a native of Champagne, was appointed as the new Chairman. Unusually, for the first time in the House's history, someone outside the family took on this role.

In 2017, Jérôme Philipon was appointed Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the family holding, and Charles-Armand de Belenet became General Manager of Champagne Bollinger. He is responsible for maintaining traditional craftsmanship while integrating the latest technologies.

Over the years, Bollinger has established its vineyards in the heart of the finest crus of Champagne. Champagne Bollinger’s 180 hectares of vines consist of 85% Grand and Premier crus, managed by their teams of growers across seven separate vineyards: Aÿ, Avenay, Tauxières, Louvois, and Verzenay for Pinot Noir; around the Montagne de Reims; Cuis for Chardonnay on the Côte des Blancs; and Champvoisy for Meunier in the Vallée de la Marne.

Another distinctive feature of Bollinger is the presence of two plots, Clos Saint-Jacques and Chaudes Terres, which have never been affected by phylloxera. These ungrafted vines are carefully maintained by hand and propagated through a layering method known as provignage. This approach helps preserve this remarkable heritage, which is used to produce the highly exclusive cuvée “Vieilles Vignes Françaises”.

The idea behind what would become “Bollinger R.D.” (which stands for “Récemment Dégorgé” in French, meaning "recently disgorged") was conceived in 1963. Madame Bollinger, along with her American agent, decided to sell a few bottles of “Réserve 1947”. 

Although they believed all their champagnes were of high quality and saw no need for a Special or Prestige cuvée, other Champagne houses had such offerings. Therefore, the goal was to compete with the “bouteilles spéciales” or “prestige cuvées” of other Champagne houses.

Madame Bollinger’s brilliant idea was to select an old vintage that was recently disgorged and dosed like an Extra Brut. The recent disgorgement ensures the wine's exceptional freshness and complexity.

In 1967, after some hesitation over the definitive name for the cuvée, Bollinger R.D. (Recently Disgorged) was finally chosen. Three vintages were released simultaneously: 1952 in the English market, 1953 in Switzerland and France, and 1955 in the United States and Italy. It was this vintage, followed by 1959, that established the cuvée's truly international reputation. And the rest is history!

Label of Champagne Bollinger R.D. 2008 (disgorged on October 28th, 2022) (*)

 

Champagne Bollinger R.D. 2008 Extra Brut (Disgorged December 9th, 2022) 

Bollinger R.D. Extra Brut 2008 is a beautiful vintage champagne with exceptional quality and complexity. It is a blend of 71% Pinot Noir and 29% Chardonnay, from a total of 18 crus, mostly Aÿ and Verzenay for Pinot Noir and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Cramant for Chardonnay. The fermentation occurred entirely in oak barrels. It was aged for about 14 years on its lees and released with a very low dosage at just 3 grams per litre (Extra Brut). The result is flamboyant, vibrant, flavorful, layered, rich, complex, ample, and structured, enhanced with great acidity, and developing brilliantly from the attack to the long, lingering finish. Loved it. 

This champagne is as mesmerizing as looking at the labels with these golden reflections, which I captured in the picture I've put as a header for this post. 

Cheers! Santé! 

Dom 

(*) NB: I could not find the label of the Cuvée disgorged on December 09, 2022, like in my picture. So, I put this one, disgorged on October 28th, 2022. Some larger formats, magnum and double-magnum, have been disgorged on November 17th, 2022. 

Sources: Info mostly taken and edited by and for www.ledomduvin.com courtesy of https://www.champagne-bollinger.com/en

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