Bollinger "B16" Brut Champagne 2016
(Champagne, France) - [VM 93] [DM 93]

About this Winery:
Since 1829, Bollinger has been producing great Champagnes with a powerful, sophisticated and complex style. In 2006, the prestigious French wine magazine La Revue du Vin de France surveyed the most significant group of sommeliers and wine writers to help select the top 50 Champagne Houses. This would be regarded as the flag-bearer for the greatness of Champagne as a unique wine region. Bollinger was selected as the Number #1 House by this group. 

With 399 acres of vineyards situated in the best Grands Crus and Premiers Crus villages, Bollinger relies on its own estate for nearly two-thirds of its grape requirements, including the Pinot Noir that gives its Champagne its distinctive roundness and elegance.

About the Wine:
Born from an atypical year of contrasting weather conditions, 2016, B16 is a daring creation composed of more than 70% Pinot Noir and explores the unique aroma profiles to be found in the terroirs of the Montagne de Reims.

VARIETY: 73% Pinot Noir, 27% Chardonnay

VINEYARD: Exclusively made from Grands and Premiers Crus, focusing on the latest-ripening areas of the Montagne de Reims.

VINTAGE: A cold and rainy spring followed by a hot, sunny summer. The vine’s demands required the team’s full dedication, before yielding grapes with a unique palette of aromas.

AGING: Seven years on the lees, riddled and disgorged by hand

DOSAGE: 4 g/l

Tasting Notes:

Ratings & Reviews

93 Points - Vinous Media:
"The 2016 B 16 is a small bottling from Bollinger that takes the place of the Grand Année, as conditions did not allow Bollinger to bottle their flagship cuveé. Brisk floral top notes give this mid-weight, expressive Champagne a good deal of immediacy. The blend is 73% Pinot Noir and 27% Chardonnay, with the Chardonnay very much in evidence. Dosage is 4 grams per liter. Disgorged: November 2024. (Drink between 2025-2032)." - Antonio Galloni (Nov 2025)

93 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"In 2013, Bollinger did not release a Grande Année but did offer its B13, a single-vintage take on a year considered atypical for the Bollinger style. The concept is repeated in the tricky but ultimately fine quality 2016 harvest with the B16. It presents a relatively delicate, cool and understated vintage relative to the Grande Année. The ripeness of the Pinot Noir is certainly present in the juicy stewed apricot and fresh raspberry fruit, but Chardonnay here brings gentle orchard fruit and fresh grapefruit zest beneath subtle richness of toasted nut and oyster shell complexity from ageing. While Grande Année offers more intensity and drama, and the latest PN series offers dynamism and youthful energy, B16 is perfectly pitched between smooth maturity and approachable brightness, all at a temptingly moderate premium over the non-vintage cuvée. (Drink between 2025-2032)." - Tom Hewson (Nov 2025)