For some time now, Champagne Bollinger has been intent on producing new cuvées showcasing the Pinot Noir grape.
In the wake of the PN TX 17 cuvée released earlier this year (which is a blend of Pinot Noir grapes harvested from several parcels within same village) comes yet another addition from this legendary house based in Aÿ.
Scroll down to see the tasting note and score for La Côte aux Enfants 2012
The Côte aux Enfants parcel, which has a distinctive terroir of its own, is located near Aÿ.
Between 1926 and 1934, Jacques Bollinger gradually bought up these various plots of land, which have until now been the source of Bollinger’s still red wine sold under the Coteaux Champenois appellation.
At the time, in the aftermath of both the dreaded phylloxera devastation and World War I, most of this land had remained fallow, so major work had to be carried out, including the installation of a retaining wall in 1932.
‘Thanks to our geological analysis of the plot, we now know that one part is indeed more suitable for producing red wines, while another part is more adapted to making sparkling wines,’ explains Denis Bunner, Bollinger’s deputy cellar master.
‘To be precise, it is the south/southeast-facing slope that is better for red wine, while the northwest-facing slope lends itself to the production of classic Champagne.
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Bollinger’s library cellar.
(Image credit: Champagne Bollinger)
‘During the initial tastings, we observed that a limestone-related character was an outstanding feature in the Champagnes produced with grapes harvested from the Côte aux Enfants,’ says Bunner. ‘Mathieu Kauffmann, cellar master at the time, therefore decided to keep separate the Champagnes produced from here. Gilles Descôtes did the same when he took over as cellar master.’
‘However, we thought that the vines had to be older before the grapes were worthy of producing a separate, special cuvée, so we waited. Fortunately, the 2012 vintage gave us the density we were waiting for, which is why we decided to release this cuvée with 2012 as its debut vintage.’
Bunner went on to set the context for this new release. ‘La Côte aux Enfants is therefore part of our range of Pinot Noir-based Champagnes, joining company with our PN cuvée series and the Vieilles Vignes Françaises. It respects the Bollinger style and the in-house vinification process, which includes vinification in oak barrels, natural cork for ageing, and manual riddling and disgorging.’
Only 1,300 bottles of this single-plot cuvée were produced in 2012.
Yohan Castaing rates Bollinger’s La Côte aux Enfants 2012:
Bordeaux native Yohan Castaing is a freelance journalist, based in France. He reviews wines from the Loire, Languedoc, Roussillon, Provence, southwest France and Champagne houses for The Wine Advocate. He founded Anthocyanes, a French wine guide, and Velvety Tannins, a guide to the wines of the Rhône Valley. He also writes for wine publications including Gault&Millau and Jancis Robinson. Castaing has held a variety of positions in the wine industry such as wine buyer and marketing director. He was a wine marketing consultant and the author of several books about wine marketing and wine tourism before, in 2011, he became a full-time freelance wine journalist focusing on the industry and wine reviews.
