Bollinger La Cote aux Enfants Champagne 2014 - Wooden Gift Case

£880.00 per bottle

ABV 12%

Blend: 100% Pinot Noir Grand Cru, from the parcel of La Côte aux Enfants. Exclusive use of the cuvée. Fermented entirely in aged oak barrels. At Bollinger, only very high-quality harvests become a vintage: density and complexity characterise the 2014 vintage of La Côte aux Enfants Champagne.

Maturation: Sealed with a natural cork and cellar aged for more than twice the time required by the appellation.

Dosage: Moderate, 6 grams per litre.

“Already after a few seconds of encountering the wine's wonderful bouquet, I could state that 2014 Bollinger La Côte aux Enfants is in many ways the very essence of "old style Bollinger". The color is very deep golden and I was blown away by how rich and mature the wine felt right away. Significantly fuller and more voluminous than both 2012 and 2013. The scent is actually as big this time as VVF and even more mature. All of this surprised me as 2014 is generally the lightest of the three. Here it was the opposite. The only thing that somehow makes me recognize the vintage is the neat and elegant note of grilled lemons I find more and more marked as the wine sounds majestically in the mouth. Perhaps this wine personifies the soul and heart of Bollinger better than any other wine. If you have been in Bollinger's cellar and in the beautiful hall where all the oak barrels are lined up, you will probably never forget the unique aroma you find there. With Bollinger's deliberately oxidative vinification, all wines from there will be strongly influenced by their external environment. When everything goes right, as it has here, this fragrance makes for a fabulously stylish personal spice. In the first place, of course, it is the micro-oxidation through the fibers of the oak barrel that leaves an impression, but also the notes of old oak with their grilled, lightly burnt and faintly smoked notes that attract autumn forest and Finnish sauna give great pleasure. From the concentrated Pinot Noir grapes, you get an extract-rich juiciness and a chewy red fruit of Gravensteiner apple, beetroot, apricot jam, strawberries and honey. From Aÿ's terroir comes an unmistakable aroma of hazelnut, honeysuckle, leather and tobacco. Can this masterpiece be stored? Sure, but does it make it better? Hardly, probably a slump will come in a few years and a new beautiful phase will only enter in ten years when new parts of the personality take shape. Different and just as good, but hardly better.”
97 points Richard Juhlin, The Champagne Club

“As the celebrated Vieilles Vignes Françaises plots slowly succumb to phylloxera, Bollinger is introducing a limited production of Champagne from the celebrated Côte aux Enfants vineyard in Aÿ, which has long yielded red wines for the house's rosé wines. It's clearly a stunning site, with a huge natural undertow of stony, saline energy that is magnified by 2014's natural zip. Already it's a wine with a stunning compression of flavours waiting to emerge. There's a vein of roasted hazelnut, cocoa and nutmeg spiciness, and it's savoury and serious rather than sweet-toned, with charry roasted apricot and tangy greengage fruit. Complexities of honey, turmeric and iodine emerge with some time, as does a savoury hint of forest floor, that may build with time. The overarching impression, though, is of a wine of tremendous inner power and imperious build.”
97 points Tom Hewson, Decanter

“From the estate’s historic single parcel of Pinot Noir, the 2014 Champagne La Côte Aux Enfants is very well detailed and takes things to the next level in this tasting. Readers may recall the 2014 La Grande Année Brut was our wine of the year in 2022, as it too was exemplary of finesse and elegance. The nose is floral and inviting, with layered depth of fresh baked croissants, strawberries, custard, orange blossoms, and fresh flowers. The palate offers a supple and full-bodied feel, with a silky texture, refined mousse, and a taught spine of acidity that creates a more linear drive for an all-around seamless finish. It is going to need some more time to drink over the coming 20 or more years. Released in June 2024.”
98 points Audrey Frick, jebdunnuck.com