La Grande Année is the embodiment of the carefully preserved traditional expertise of the Bollinger Champagne House. The wine is therefore exclusively vinified in small aged oak barrels. Champagne Bollinger has never abandoned this traditional craft method, which helps develop aromas of great finesse.

With an impressive 96 points from Antonio Galloni — outscoring even the prestigious 2002 and 2012 vintages — alongside 95–97 points from Essi Avellan, it's no surprise that the Honest Grapes team were absolutely blown away when tasting the wine at the estate just last week. Even better, it comes in at 15% less than the previous Grande Année release — bravo to the Bollinger team!

The 2018 vintage is also an emotionally resonant one for Bollinger, marking the year they began rebuilding their historic cellars and constructing a new hotel ahead of their bicentenary celebrations in 2029. It’s a particularly elegant expression of La Grande Année, which Galloni describes as “quite pretty and delicate,” yet it still carries that unmistakable Bollinger energy and focus, with layers of textural richness balanced by fine acidity.