Vieilles Vignes Francaises
⏳ Drinking Window
2025 - 2045
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
White truffle risotto, roasted pheasant, aged Comté cheese
✨ Technical Specifications
Bollinger's Vieilles Vignes Françaises is a liquid monument to the pre-phylloxera past of Champagne. This legendary Blanc de Noirs is crafted from ungrafted Pinot Noir vines grown in two tiny, walled enclosures in Aÿ: Chaudes Terres and Clos Saint-Jacques. These precious vines miraculously escaped the devastating phylloxera epidemic of the late 19th century. They are cultivated using the ancient, labor-intensive 'provignage' method of layering, where the vines are grown 'en foule' (in a crowd) and worked entirely by hand. Fermented in seasoned oak casks, this ultra-rare cuvée offers an unparalleled glimpse into the rich, powerful, and deeply concentrated flavors of historical Champagne, characterized by extraordinary depth, vinous structure, and complex autolytic notes.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 1829 in Aÿ by Hennequin de Villermont, Paul Renaudin, and Jacques Bollinger, Maison Bollinger endures as one of Champagne's preeminent independent, family-owned Grandes Marques. Its identity was indelibly forged under the visionary stewardship of Madame Lily Bollinger in the mid-twentieth century. The estate controls approximately 180 hectares of vineyards, dominated by Grand and Premier Cru parcels across the Montagne de Reims and Vallée de la Marne, rooted in deep Belemnite chalk and limestone. Bollinger is celebrated for its Pinot Noir-centric architectural style, championing vinification in seasoned oak barrels, magnum reserve aging under natural cork, and extensive cellar maturation before disgorgement. The portfolio is epitomized by Special Cuvée and La Grande Année, reaching transcendental complexity in R.D. (Récemment Dégorgé) and the elusive Vieilles Vignes Françaises, produced from ungrafted, pre-phylloxera vines trained en foule.
🍇 Grapes
100% Pinot Noir
🍷 ABV
12% - 12.5%