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Bollinger

Last week we were lucky enough to be invited to a private tour of the Bollinger champagne house founded in 1829 in Ay.

We were greeted by our own personal Bollinger tour guide, who took us straight through the impressive entrance to the small walled vineyard at the back of the property. It is here, that our guide tells us how Bollinger has managed to preserve a small plot of its vieilles vignes or 'old vines'. These are ancient phylloxera-free vines (those predating the phylloxera blight that devastated French vines in the late 19th Century) that allows Bollinger to produce the rarely seen Vielles Vignes Francais. The resultant champagne is said to taste exactly like the great vintages of the early 1800s.

We then headed past Madame Lily Bollinger’s house towards the cellars. These stretch for miles under the streets of Ay, housing thousands of bottles. After a tour of the caves and the barrel-maker’s quarters (where we watched Bollinger's master cooper in action), it was time for the tasting. Visiting in March, meant we got to taste the base wines (vins clairs) from the previous vintage. 

Finally, we returned for a lunch hosted by Bollinger, where we enjoyed a selection of their elegant champagnes over a delicious four-course meal.

 

 

 

Category: General News

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Posted: 11/03/2016

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