Champagne Bollinger announced yesterday that it has just purchased smaller Champagne house Ayala.

The family-owned holding company, La Société Jacques Bollinger, says it bought Ayala in order to complete its top tier of high quality Champagnes which already includes one of the rarest and most expensive Champagnes in the world, the Bollinger Vieilles Vignes Francaises.

Apart from Bollinger, the holding company already owns other prestigious labels including Champagne Montvillers and Chanson Père et Fils in Burgundy as well distributers BLD in France and Mentzendorff in the UK.

Ayala, a smaller but well respected house, located alongside Bollinger in the village of Ay in the heart of Champagne, was bought for an undisclosed amount from La Compagnie Financière Frey.

Frey acquired Ayala in 2000, and also owns shares in Champagne Billecart-Salmon, and Chateau La Lagune in the Haut Medoc.

Written by Kerin O’Keefe

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Kerin O'Keefe
Kerin O'Keefe
Decanter Magazine, Wine Writer & Italian Expert

Kerin O’Keefe is a wine writer, critic and public speaker, specialising in Italian wine. She is the Italian editor for Wine Enthusiast magazine and has also appeared in Decanter, Wine News and World of Fine Wine. As an author, she has written Franco Biondi Santi: The Gentleman of Brunello, Brunello di Montalcino: Understanding and Appreciating One of Italy's Greatest Wines. Most recently, she wrote Barolo and Barbaresco: The King and Queen of Italian Wine (2014).