Bollinger Rose Champagne | 75 cl

Product Information

Rosé champagne may feel like a fairly new trend, but it is believed to have begun with Ruinart, who are said to have shipped the first bottles of pink fizz in 1764. Lily, who had carefully planned her succession as cleverly as she planned everything else, handed control to her very able nephew Claude d’Hautefeuille in 1971 and died in 1977, having made Bollinger an even greater house. In 1978 the management of the business passed to Lily’s nephew Christian Bizot and it remains in family hands to this day, a bastion of tradition allied with understated modernity. Responding to rising demand, champagne producers are now placing more attention on producing pink varieties. It’s up to the champagne cellar master (or 'chef de cave') to select the recipe that best reflects their house style. As such, you can expect these wines to range in colour from pale blush to salmon pink, often with a taste of fresh summer fruits, such as strawberries, raspberries and cherry. Sometimes there will be a touch of brioche, pastry or toastiness too – and there must always be smooth, persistent bubbles.

saw the choice of the first chairman of the business to come from outside the family in the form of a native of Champagne, Jérôme Philipon, who worked previously for Coca Cola. The standards that have made the house of Bollinger what it is today remain firmly in place. However, it wasn’t until Madame Clicquot revolutionised the production decades later that pink champagne truly became popularised. “She used to say: ‘Our wines must be flattering both on the palate and on the eye.’” explains Didier Mariotti, chef de cave at Veuve Clicquot. Founded in 1829 by Joseph Bollinger, from Swabia in Germany, and Champenois native Paul Renaudin, the business was soon in a position to expand and seek new markets. In so doing, Bollinger became the first house to export dry Champagne to Britain, in 1865, earning a royal Warrant in the process. They began exporting to the United States in 1870.Thanks to its roundness, rosé and cheese make unexpectedly great company," adds Mariotti. "It perfectly matches with fresh goat’s cheese, a young Mimolette and with Ossau-Iraty." It depends on the length of the journey, of course, as Labour’s Diane Abbott found when she was spotted one evening in 2019, drinking a ready-mixed mojito on an Overground train through her north London constituency. It didn’t help that Abbott was then Shadow Home Secretary, and drinking had been illegal on Transport for London services since 2008. It was banned across the network by the then-London mayor, Boris Johnson. Bollinger is a well renowned Champagne brand whose vineyards can be found in the Ay region of France. This is nestled in the Champagne region, well known across the world for providing delicious and refreshing drinks. The grapes grown here and used in this Champagne are majority Pinot Noir, as well as Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. Fruity Notes

Created under strict conditions in the Champagne region of France, Bollinger Special Cuvée's unique taste is the result of blending freshly harvested grapes with reserve wines to achieve the familiar, Pinot-strong mix. It features fruity undertones with a rich velvety texture. The nose has hints of brioche, with undertones of fig and spice. This is a dry, rather than sweet, champagne. The complexity of the taste can be attributed to the age of reserve wines, often up to fifteen years old, which create the multifaceted taste at the heart of the Special Cuvée. The champagne is fermented in oak barrels, which also contribute to the unique taste. The wine pairs well with fish and other seafood, though will generally complement most cuisine. Top Bottles at Low Prices It goes without saying your preferred bubbles must be served chilled. We suggest serving rosé champagne at a temperature of 8 to 10°C ,” says Mariotti – any cooler and you run the risk of killing the delicate, nuanced flavours. But, as far as food pairings go, you might be surprised by how versatile rosé champagne can be. In 1818, this Grande Dame broke with tradition and re-created the process of making rosé champagne. Before, it was made by adding an elderberry-based mixture into white champagne. Madame Clicquot had a bold vision in which color, taste, and aromas were vital to the quality of the wine. She had vines in the Bouzy region of Champagne where she made her own red wine, and she decided to blend this with her still white wines.” The result was a rosé champagne with unique complexity and lasting popularity. Bollinger is one of very few Champagne houses to grow the majority of the grapes they use. All the vineyards are farmed sustainably, employing methods designed to increase biodiversity, even down to planting hedgerows and orchards.Well, quite. Drinking on a train is entirely different to the sense-deadening desperation of boozing before or during a flight (where cabin pressure and recycled air numb the tastebuds, hence the popularity of highly spiced Bloody Marys). On a train you can be Daniel Craig and Eva Green in Casino Royale, or Cary Grant and Eve Marie Saint in North by Northwest, though a quaffing companion is not strictly necessary.