The denomination Special Cuvée was created in 1911. The idea came from William Folks, then partner of the illustrious London House of Mentzendorff. This great wine lover felt it was an insult to simply call this great wine "non vintage". The suggestion of naming it "Special Cuvée" was immediately approved by Monsieur Bollinger.
A blend par excellence, the Special Cuvée is the purest expression of the Bollinger style; of its craftsmanship and its singular conception of what a champagne should be. It is, therefore, on this wine that the House of Bollinger shows how it is different from other Champagne Houses, asserts its qualitative policy and by which it asks to be judged.
Ratings & Reviews
94 Points & "Highly Recommended" - Wine Spectator Magazine:
"A rich, smoky Champagne, with hints of marzipan and fennel seed accenting honeyed malt, bread dough, baked
apple and gingersnap flavors. It’s all focused by intense acidity, which meshes beautifully into the layers of flavor
and refined texture, with a lingering finish. Drink now through 2021." — A.N. (Dec 31, 2010)
94 Points - The Wine News:
"Burnished gold hue with a lively, streaming bead. Attractive bakery aromas of fresh croissant with nutmeg and vanilla highlights. Forward, mixed flavors of baked apple, dark honey and notes of beer and malt. Stylish, distinctive finish imbued with lingering red apple, caramel and crisp acidity." (1/1/2010)
93 Points - Wine Enthusiast Magazine:
"Always a rich nonvintage, this latest bottling doesn’t disappoint expectations. It has a rich, biscuity character, hints of toast along with pure citrus and fresh apricots. It is ripe, generous, to be drunk with food." — R.V. (12/1/2010)
94 Points & "Editor's Choice" - Wine Enthusiast Magazine
"The Bollinger style is always rich, food friendly and impressive. This wine is all of those things, with power and intensity of flavor along with ripe fruit, a layer of toastiness and a dry aftertaste. This is a style of wine that can take even more bottle aging. Imported by Paterno Wines International." - R.V. (12/1/2005)
92 Points - Wine & Spirits Magazine:
"Brisk and elegant on first pass, this feels substantial yet weightless in its fresh lemon flavors. The bass notes develop with air, bringing on the richness of the wood treatment with smoke and toast. This is 60 percent pinot noir, mostly from grand and premier crus. An impressive bottling of Bollinger's classic Brut." - Joshua Greene (12/1/2008)
91 Points - Wine Spectator Magazine:
"There's a slight grain to the texture and this bubbly is all the better for it, lending a pleasing assertiveness to the peach, candied citrus, spice and graphite notes. It's all backed by a firm acidity and a chalky finish. Drink now through 2010." - Bruce Sanderson (11/15/2008)
93 Points, "Highly Recommended" & Rank #69 "Top 100 of 2003" - Wine Spectator Magazine:
"A beautiful Champagne. Complex and elegant, evoking ginger, jasmine, citrus and honey aromas and flavors, accented by a biscuit and grain component coming as much from barrel fermentation as yeast aging. Very firmly structured and long. Enjoy with Asian foods or Parmesan cheese. Drink now through 2006. 9,500 cases imported." –BS (10/15/2003)
91 Points - Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar:
"Deep aromas of ginger, toffee, butter and nutskin; reminded me of a maturing white Burgundy. Full-bodied and intense, with flavors of toasted bread, spiced apple, baked pear and nutskin. Sappy, deep and strong in extract; this has impressive palate presence. Finishes with excellent subtle persistence. A particularly harmonious bottle of Bollinger, and a perfect dinner-table Champagne." - Josh Raynolds (Nov/Dec '03)
91 Points - Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine:
"All Bolly in its toasty, chalky, slightly angular but powerful way, this wine reminds of the company's "Grande Annee" in its fairly bold approach. Frothy and insistent in its bubbles and tasty, rich, toasty, stony and vanillin all at the same time, this is Champagne with a purpose, and, in this case, it works without being over the top in any dimension." (Reviewed: December 2009)
91 Points - Allen Meadows' Burghound:
"Here the expressive nose is extremely yeasty and deeply pitched with delicious, vibrant and crisp middle-weight flavors that are precise and clean on the long finish. This is a beautiful and relatively robust effort and I like the way that everything is delivered with grace and authority with a firm but not aggressive backbone of acidity. This should be high on the list for those who enjoy cellaring NV examples as it will easily support 10 to 15 years of aging but can also be enjoyed now. A very solid effort at this level." - Allen Meadows (10/10/2007)
90 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"Opens with elegant, well-delineated aromas of honey, brioche, roasted nuts, orange zest, flowers and peaches, which appear on the palate in a classy, finessed expression of the house style. This is an especially refined and delicious NV Champagne. It is roughly 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier sourced from a variety of vineyards. Bollinger adds 5-10% of reserve wines (in this case from 1995 and 1996, aged in magnums), which gives this offering its lovely complexity." - Antonio Galloni (12/31/2008)
