Bollinger, Aÿ: Walled Vines and a Widow's House

What to do there

5 things to do

1. 1

   Spot the Chalk Cliff of La Côte aux Enfants

   adventure Free

   White chalk in the Bollinger vines above the town

   As the house tells it, La Côte aux Enfants is a steep hill on the edge of Aÿ: about four hectares that Jacques Bollinger pieced together in the early 20th century from more than fifty owners, with a white chalk cliff you can see from the village.

   WHERE: the top of Rue Edmond de Ayala, where the houses end.

   WHAT: find the white chalk among the vines, about 700 m up the slope to the north-north-east. Then pick the name story that fits the slope you see: nobody agrees, and the story goes that children once gathered vine cuttings there, or that only children were nimble enough for the slope, or that women hauling soil back up in heavy baskets called it la Côte aux Enfers.

   HOW: free; stay on the public street.

   Log Memory
2. 2

   Solve the Riddle of the Crowded Vines

   history Free

   Why two walled clos were never grafted, and a riddle on the town's plaque

   Phylloxera reached Champagne in 1892; by 1911 it had struck more than half of the vines still on their own roots, and growers replanted on American rootstock. Bollinger's two walled clos in Aÿ, Clos Saint-Jacques and Clos des Chaudes-Terres, were never grafted: their Pinot Noir still grows on its own roots. The house says the walls seem to have protected them, and that the clos are still worked by hand, with a draught horse. That protection is failing: in 2023 the house's director said phylloxera, always present there at a low level, was now increasing.

   WHERE: Rue Emmanuel Lemaître, about 150 m from the house's door.

   WHAT: find the wall plaque, stop B of Aÿ's heritage walk, about a Bollinger clos still planted en foule. Before you read it, solve the riddle: how can a vineyard that looks like a disordered crowd really be planted in rows? Then read the plaque and check your answer.

   HOW: free, from the street; the clos themselves stay behind their walls. If the plaque is hard to read, the answer is layering (provignage).

   Log Memory
3. 3

   Find Lily Bollinger's Door and Decode Her Birthday

   history Free

   Her house, her birthday wine, and a wartime story to judge

   Lily Bollinger was a young widow when her husband died in 1941; she took over the house during the German Occupation and ran it until 1971, and the house says she rode her bicycle through the family vineyards. She lived at 16 rue Jules Lobet, the family house; the house says its barrels dry in the courtyard there.

   WHERE: 16 rue Jules Lobet, a minute's walk from the plaque.

   WHAT: find number 16 from the street; the house is private. Then decode: she had the ungrafted vines made into a champagne of their own for her 70th birthday, Vieilles Vignes Françaises, whose first vintage was 1969, launched in 1974. In what year was she born, and how old was she when she took over? Last, the story goes that she sat Champagne's wartime German overseer, the Weinführer, in a chair much too small for him, so he stood through the whole visit and never came back. Decide whether you believe it.

   HOW: free, from the street.

   Log Memory
4. 4

   Walk the Cellars on The Essentials Tour

   wine Price: very high

   Old casks, a million magnums, three champagnes

   Bollinger keeps about 4,000 old oak casks, some nearly 100 years old, kept in repair by its own cooper; the house says it buys every one second-hand in Burgundy. Its vintage wines ferment in them and age under natural cork rather than crown caps, and about one million reserve magnums wait in the cellars, sealed with cork and a metal clasp.

   WHERE: the boutique at 20 Boulevard Maréchal de Lattre, where tours leave.

   WHAT: The Essentials, 2 hours in English or French for €115, ending with Special Cuvée, Bollinger Rosé and La Grande Année.

   HOW: book through the house's free 1829 programme or champagne-booking.com, and pay on arrival. Arrive more than 15 minutes early, dressed for a house visit. In the cellars, ask your guide where the reserve magnums rest. Under-18s pay €30 or €50 and are served no alcohol.

   BACKUP: at the weekend or if tours are full, Pressoria, 11 boulevard Pierre Cheval, is open every day except Thursday, with a self-guided route and two champagnes or two grape juices for €18.

   Log Memory
5. 5

   Taste Three Years Against Fourteen

   Optional

   wine Price: very high

   Special Cuvée and R.D., side by side

   The house says it ages Special Cuvée for at least three years and R.D. for fourteen. R.D. means récemment dégorgé, recently disgorged: an old vintage kept on its lees and disgorged just before sale, which the house says Lily Bollinger first released in 1967.

   WHERE: the same door, 20 Boulevard Maréchal de Lattre.

   WHAT: The Taste of Time, 2 hours for €170, pours Special Cuvée, La Grande Année, La Grande Année Rosé and R.D.

   HOW: book it like The Essentials, then taste the first and the last side by side and put into your own words what the extra years in the cellar changed.

   Log Memory

Insider Tips

• Tours run Monday to Friday only and must be booked; the boutique at 20 Boulevard Maréchal de Lattre opens weekdays, 9h–12h and 14h–17h.

• Arrive early and dressed for a house visit: anyone who arrives later than 15 minutes before the start may be refused entry.

• Fleming put Bollinger in a 1956 Bond novel, but the films came by handshake: producer Cubby Broccoli and Bollinger's Christian Bizot agreed over a 1978 dinner, and the house has been the official champagne since Moonraker in 1979.

• No tour at the weekend? Pressoria, about 850 m west on boulevard Pierre Cheval, opens every day except Thursday and offers two grape juices instead of champagne on the same €18 ticket.