Bollinger’s 2018 La Grande Année is quite pretty and delicate. Floral and citrus notes are nicely lifted in a Grande Année that offers notable sensuality and grace. Hints of orchard fruit, chamomile, mint and chalk build through the mid-palate and into the taut, chiseled finish. There’s plenty of energy and focus. More importantly, this is a fine effort in a year marked by high yields in Champagne. I would give this a few years in the cellar. The 2018 is 66% Pinot Noir and 34% Chardonnay from 19 villages, 73% Grand Cru and 37% Premier Cru. The core villages are Aÿ, Verzenay and Mareuil for Pinot Noir and Avize, Chouilly and Cuis for the Chardonnay. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: March 2025
96 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous (May 2026)
Originating from a hot and dry growing season—particularly from mid-June onward—during which harvest began as early as August 23 and lasted for a full two weeks, Bollinger’s 2018 La Grande Année, composed of 66% Pinot Noir and 34% Chardonnay, was disgorged in March 2025 with a dosage of six grams per liter. The wine has turned out very well in the vintage context, presenting—unsurprisingly—a broader and more succulent profile than the racy, fine-boned renditions of 2014 and 2008. Unfurling in the glass with aromas of peach, yellow apple, and orange peel mingled with freshly baked bread and mango, it is medium- to full-bodied, ample and textural, with a generous core of fruit, animated by a pillowy mousse and laden with ripe yet vibrant acidity, carrying through to a long finish. It is slightly more expressive in magnum format, though in either case, it will benefit from a few years of post-disgorgement aging to fully unwind.
94+ points, Kristaps Karklins, Wine Advocate (Mar 2026)
2018's generosity and open-knit structure yields an immediately fine, rewarding Grande Année full of white peach, grilled almond, sweet raspberry and blackberry Pinot fruit, held with customary Bollinger savour in some sea salt and briny restraint. There's a gentle apricot-skin grip speaking of the heat of the year, while a gentle fresh tang of dried citrus from Chardonnay keeps things moving. There's substance and fruit flesh up front here, but it's a less forceful wine than the 2015, well pitched for approaching in its first five years of life as well as beyond.
94 points, Tom Hewson, Decanter (Mar 2026)
Top Quality Store
