Bollinger

House · Aÿ · founded 1829

Bollinger is a family-owned Champagne house in Aÿ, founded on 6 February 1829 as Renaudin-Bollinger & Cie.1 The house gives 180 ha of vines, 85% of them in grand and premier cru villages.1

History

The company Renaudin-Bollinger & Cie was set up on 6 February 1829 by Athanase de Villermont, who owned land around Aÿ, Joseph (known as Jacques) Bollinger and Paul Renaudin.1 Élisabeth (Lily) Bollinger led the house from 1941 to 1971. In 2008, for the first time, the house was entrusted to a manager from outside the family.1 In 2010 an inventory found a walled-up cellar; its oldest bottle dates from 1830.1

Vineyards

The house gives 180 ha of vines, 85% in grand and premier cru villages, and says it grows most of the grapes it needs. Pinot Noir covers more than 60% of the vineyard.1 The Union des Maisons de Champagne lists 178 ha in 13 villages.2 Two plots in Aÿ, Clos Saint-Jacques and Chaudes Terres, escaped phylloxera.1

Cellar

The house keeps about 4,000 old barrels and a stock of about 1 million magnums of reserve wine, a practice it documents since 1890.1 It says its wines age on the lees two to three times longer than the appellation minimum.1 See ageing on lees.

Wines

Non-vintage Special Cuvée and Rosé; vintage La Grande Année and La Grande Année Rosé; R.D., a late-disgorged release of La Grande Année vintages; and Vieilles Vignes Françaises.1 See late-disgorged champagne.

See also

When the Champagne houses were foundedHistoryAyRegionsPinot NoirGrapesLate-disgorged (récemment dégorgé)StylesAgeing on leesMethods

Sources

  1. Champagne Bollinger. Notre histoire (La Maison)
  2. Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC). House profile: Bollinger
  3. Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC). The Champagne Houses (member list)

Facts checked on 2026-10-20