2014 Bollinger La Grande Année | Champagne Darling With Attractive Pricing

”In fact, it is one of the best recent editions I can remember tasting […] I can’t recommend the 2014 highly enough. It’s a total knock-out”

- Antonio Galloni, Vinous.

The Champagne House Of Bollinger

Bollinger Champagne had its humble beginnings in 1585 in the centre of the Champagne region of France and has since created a tale of timeless finesse and enduring excellence. From the very beginning, this renowned Champagne house has been a guardian of tradition and a standard-bearer for uncompromising quality.

Bollinger's story really unfolds in the carefully tended vineyards of Aÿ in 1829, where the house's founder, Hennequin de Villermont, along with Joseph Bollinger and Paul Renaudin, laid the foundations for a legacy that would resonate for centuries. With an unwavering commitment to making exceptional sparkling wines, Bollinger earned future recognition.

However, it was not until a full century later that the world really took notice of Bollinger, and this was largely due to a woman named Emily Law de Lauritston Boubers (Lily Bollinger). She had married into the Bollinger family and when her husband died in 1942, the promotion of Champagne became her full focus. She travelled the world spreading the name of Bollinger.

“I drink it when I’m happy and when I’m sad. Sometimes I drink it when I’m alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I’m not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise, I never touch it—unless I’m thirsty.”

– Madame Lily Bollinger

Bollinger's rise to international fame also took an iconic turn when Bollinger became the Champagne of choice for the fictional British secret agent, James Bond. A cinematic partnership thus reinforced Bollinger's status as the epitome of sophisticated class and refinement was strengthened. The association with Bond added a layer of luxury to the brand and created a connection between the world of espionage and the effervescent appeal of Bollinger Champagne.

The Prestige Cuvée La Grande Année

Bollinger has become particularly famous for their single vineyard Champagne V.V.F (Vieilles Vignes Françaises), the late disgorged Bollinger R.D. (Récemment Dégorgé) and their prestige cuvée La Grande Année, which is available for investment through this investment tip. It is almost impossible to separate the three versions from each other in terms of quality, as they all belong at the top of the world's best Champagnes - and this 2014 La Grande Annéee is a prime example of this.

2014 Bollinger La Grande Année – one of the vintage’s rare hits

“Overall, this is an extremely beautiful and complex Bollinger in the finer and more elegant half of the hole. I love how you find new little details in a harmonious simplicity with each new sip. Fascination and beautiful already, grand as R.D. in 10 years or more and without a doubt one of the vintage’s rare hits”, - Richard Juhlin on 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année

Richard Juhlin is enthusiastic about the 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année, awarding it 96 great points. This means that he puts it on par with the fantastic vintages: 2008, 2002 and 1996, which is an endorsement of dimensions.

Wine Advocate awards 95 points and Vinous awards 98 points, which is the highest score Vinous has ever awarded a Bollinger La Grande Année. Across the scores from the three critics, the 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année scores 96.3 points, which is only surpassed by the 2008 Bollinger La Grande Année, which scores 96.7 points. The 2014 vintage is thus a whisker away from being the best Bollinger La Grande Année ever.

For comparison, a 2008 Bollinger La Grande Année currently costs €165. Your price for the 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année is €100.

How Bollinger La Grande Année Performs

The first time you could invest in Bollinger La Grande Année here was back in September 2019, when the 2008 Bollinger La Grande Année was available. If you invested then, you would have realised a return of 94% today.

In July 2020, you could invest in 2012 Bollinger La Grande Année, and had you invested then, you would have realised a return of 33% today. In April 2022, we were able to offer 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année for investment for the first time, and the price has not moved forward. Quite the opposite. And there is potential in that. More on that in a moment.

Furthermore, according to Liv-ex, the last 10 vintages^* that have been on the market for five years have delivered an average return of 78.3% over the last five years. This equates to an average annual return of 12.3%.

The above returns have set the agenda. And here we are dealing with a 2014 vintage that is right in the quality slipstream of 2008.

*Årgang 2007, 2005, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1999, 1997, 1996, 1995 and 1993.

Price Corrections Offer An Attractive Buying Opportunity

Back in February 2023, the 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année was the best performing wine in the Liv-ex´100 index with a price increase of 11.1% since the previous month, meaning that the 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année is in high demand. At the time, the valuation of this particular wine at RareWine Trading was €115.

However, as we all know, 2023 has been a year where supply and demand dynamics have changed and price corrections have been made. Price corrections that have also affected the 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année, which is currently priced at €100, offering investors an attractive buying opportunity.

This is not the first time we have advocated for attractive buying opportunities in the last six months, and it probably will not be the last time anytime soon. There are several reasons why the market is currently offering unique opportunities for investors, including: unprecedented tranquillity in the market, ongoing correction, changing wealth demographics, and limited supply.

Read much more about the unique advantages the current market offers in our article: Why Wine Investment Is Ripe for the Picking in 2023

Bollinger: Among The World's Most Coveted Wine Brands

The fact that 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année took the top spot as the most traded wine on Liv-ex in February is in line with Bollinger's position on the recently published power 100 list from Liv-ex.

The Power 100 list is a ranking of wines measured by brand value, traded value, and traded volume. Bollinger is ranked number 41 and can thus call itself one of the 50 best and most sought-after wine brands in the world. Add to this the fact that only one other Champagne brand (Louis Roederer) is ranked higher than Bollinger on this year's list (number 33).

Bollinger can thus enjoy the demand and see competitors such as Krug, Dom Pérignon, Taittinger and Jacques Selosse occupy positions further down the list, which only includes a total of 8 Champagne brands.

Bollinger is coveted.

RareWine Invest's Opinion

With a drinking window of 2024-2044 (Vinous), the 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année has a long life ahead of it. It has already proven itself worthy of the world's attention: both as a single vintage, but also under its own brand umbrella.

Juhlin calls it a rare hit for the vintage, and Antonio Galloni declares it highly recommended. In terms of quality, it is top-notch, although the price still has some way to go to match the price of the comparable 2008 vintage. Do you think the 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année will regain its €115 price tag? If so, the current investment price is particularly attractive for you.

Predecessors have performed, and for a while the 2014 Bollinger La Grande Année has been sent back to the start. A price of €100 still allows for great consumption. And who does not want to taste a wine with 98 points? Juhlin does. Vinous does. In February, the whole world did.