Winemaker Notes
"Readers will know of Bolligner's Côte Aux Enfants for the still red wine produced on its south-facing slope. They're less likely to be aware that this Aÿ monopole—acquired between 1926 and 1934 by Jacques Bollinger and defined by its high elevation, unusually shallow soils and high percentages of active calcium—also has a northwest-facing side, a side that has historically been vinified as a Blanc de Noirs and included in Grande Année or Spécial Cuvée, depending on the vintage. Given its soils and exposition, it's no surprise that this site would produce tensile, chiseled wines, and that's the case even in the generally rather rich, fleshy 2012 vintage. This new addition to Bollinger's range sits somewhere between their rather demonstrative Brut PN series and their strikingly vinous, dramatic Vieilles Vignes Française. With this first release, it immediately exhibits a distinctive personality that clearly merits being bottled and released as a lieu-dit cuvée." Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The single parcel of La Côte Aux Enfants has long been the source for Bollinger’s still red wine for both their Rosé and their Coteaux Champenois bottlings. The 2012 Champagne Blanc de Noirs La Côte Aux Enfants Brut is their first release, with approximately 1000 bottles produced, only 70 of which will come into the United States. One hundred percent Pinot Noir, it is rich with incense, bread dough, fully ripe red fruits, and kirsch. The palate is broad and mouth-filling with consistency from the aromatics and has a long, floral finish with blackcurrant, lavender, toast, and a driving mineral texture. Though it is ripe and full, it maintains freshness and energy without feeling bruised and has refreshing salinity. It leaves a wonderful first impression, but this could certainly prove challenging to revisit given its miniscule quantities. Drink 2024-2044.
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Decanter
A wine which exudes elegant notes of dried flowers, Mirabelle plum, pastry and hazelnuts on the nose. It has medium density on the palate, but there is excellent vinosity as well as a chiselled precision. Endowed as it is with a compelling mouthfeel brimming with tactile tension and mouthwatering salinity, this is a gastronomic Champagne that cries out for a dish to pair with. Bravo for this exceptional bottling! Disgorged: March 2022. Dosage: 8g/L.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Produced from the northwest-facing part of this famed Aÿ vineyard, whose sunnier slopes produce Bollinger's red Côteaux Champenois, the 2012 Brut Blanc de Noirs La Côte Aux Enfants was disgorged in March 2022 with eight grams per liter dosage. Exhibiting aromas of golden orchard fruit, mirabelle plum, praline and honeyed toast, it's medium to full-bodied, vinous and chiseled, with a deep core of fruit, terrific tension and a long, penetrating finish. This is a serious, characterful Champagne that debuts in the Bollinger range with a clear identity of its own.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’