Champagne Bollinger’s Cellar Master Hosts Harvest Lunch and Launches La Côte aux Enfants Champagne 2014
On Monday, 7th October, Champagne Bollinger hosted a harvest lunch in London for members of the press and trade, led by Cellar Master Denis Bunner. The event highlighted Champagne Bollinger’s 2024 harvest, which, despite being plagued by a rainy season and severe mildew challenges, yielded a small but notably high-quality crop.
Attendees enjoyed a curated tasting of Bollinger’s exceptional Pinot Noir-focused wines, featuring both recent and forthcoming releases. A standout was the newly launched 2014 vintage of La Côte aux Enfants Champagne, underscoring Champagne Bollinger’s long-standing expertise in crafting Pinot Noir-driven cuvées, a hallmark of the house since its inception.
During the Pinot Noir-focused lunch, guests enjoyed a selection of cuvées from the Bollinger PN range, beginning with the PN AYC18 served in magnum as an aperitif, followed by the current PN VZ19. The tasting then progressed to the La Côte aux Enfants Champagne 2014 and Bollinger’s renowned Vieilles Vignes Françaises 2014, crafted from pre-phylloxera Pinot Noir vines sourced from two exceptional clos, perfectly paired with Brixham turbot. As a special treat, a “Vin Surprise” was revealed: the extraordinary Bollinger Vieilles Vignes 1989, chosen for its similar profile to the 2014 vintage, offering a glimpse into how the 2014 might age over time.
The lunch was an opportunity to release La Côte aux Enfants Champagne 2014 to the trade. La Côte aux Enfants Champagne is Bollinger’s first, single plot cuvée which was introduced to the range in 2022. This legendary elevated parcel in Aÿ has two aspects: its south side which is made into red wine; and its north-western side which has been producing wines of such exceptional quality that the House has been using it to make this iconic prestige champagne since the 2012 vintage.
Bollinger Cellar Master, Denis Bunner, says: “The 2014 vintage was a question of patience. We decided to wait one more week before picking and therefore were successful in ensuring we had grapes with a good concentration and ripeness. La Côte aux Enfants is an exceptional plot with steep slopes, and very fine chalky soils that produces very ripe Pinot Noir with excellent minerality. This vintage needed some time to reveal itself hence why we have released it after ten years rather than the usual seven.”
Denis Bunner also referenced the 2014 vintage, as a year of major contrasts. After a rainy autumn and winter, early spring brought dry and sunny weather, leading to an early budburst in April. June saw record sunshine, while the summer was marked by storms and cool, wet conditions, especially in August. However, mild weather in September helped the vines reach perfect maturity, balancing the challenging summer with excellent vine health and preserving acidity. Harvesting began September 15th and finished unusually quickly, due to optimal ripeness.
La Côte aux Enfants Champagne 2014 has an expressive nose with notes of brioche and crème fraiche, evolving into delicate scents of marzipan. Then, after some time in the glass, it reveals hints of acacia honey and pâte de fruits. It has a remarkable texture, making it generously creamy on the palate where notes of toasted hazelnuts blend seamlessly into a chocolatey finish, enhanced by dried fruits such as apricot and delicate notes of quince jelly. It has a lovely freshness, more bright acidity than saline, which brings exceptional complexity.
Victoria Carfantan, Director of Champagne Bollinger UK and Global Partnerships, says: “It has been a great pleasure to have Cellar Master, Denis Bunner in the UK to showcase the House’s exceptional expertise at producing these extraordinary 100% Pinot Noir cuvées and to provide a wonderful backstory to the wine making. To share the very special selection of Bollinger’s recent and upcoming Pinot Noir releases with our UK guests was a rare treat and shines a light on the House’s DNA.”
The RSP for the Bollinger La Côte aux Enfants Champagne 2014 is £1200, which is now available to purchase from Fine Wine Merchants.


