Real Simple is getting a head start on holiday coverage with great gift ideas for the wine lover on your list, including Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvée 007 Limited Edition and Champagne Ayala Le Blanc de Blancs 2013.
Of course, Bollinger is the perfect choice for any Bond lover. The writer adds that “the new limited-edition packaging is a nod to Bollinger’s long-standing partnership with the James Bond franchise.” As far as the liquid inside the bottle, “made from 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and the rest Pinot Meunier, this Champagne has rich notes of sweet citrus, crème brûlée, and caramelized stone fruits.”
The “top quality” Ayala Blanc de Blancs is produced “only in exceptional years” and “offers delicious minerality and a velvety texture.” Furthermore, the 100% Chardonnay wine boasts “complex flavors of passion fruit, citrus, ripe white peaches, and honey build as it sits in your glass.”
Both champagnes are perfect options to ring in the New Year with! Read the full list of recommendations HERE
Related Wines
Champagne Ayala
Champagne Ayala Le Blanc de Blancs 2013
Champagne, France
Ayala’s Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay, produced in small quantities in exceptional years only, fully expresses the superb caliber of great Chardonnay from the best crus of the Côte des Blancs. After 6 years of aging in Ayala’s cellars, remarkable minerality and low dosage make this an outstanding wine.
Champagne Bollinger
Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvée NV
Champagne
Special Cuvée is a Champagne that defies category. Pinot Noir, the most demanding grape in the region, makes up at least 60 percent of the blend, giving structure, depth and signature red fruit. One-third is fermented in oak barrels, adding silkier texture and layered flavor. Reserve wines aged in magnums under cork for up to 15 years are hand disgorged into the blend, bringing richness and complexity. Aged much longer than most Champagnes, Special Cuvée offers freshness, savory nuance and velvety texture. It is a true expression of Bollinger’s devotion at every step.
Related Producers
Champagne Bollinger
Champagne, France
Bollinger is one of the rare Grande Marques that’s still family owned. Known for its rich, elegant and polished style of Champagne, their outstanding wines are the result of rigorous attention to detail and incredibly labor-intensive practices that few houses are willing to undertake. Underscoring its excellence, Bollinger has remained British secret agent James Bond's Champagne of choice since 1973.
Champagne Ayala
Champagne, France
Ayala is one of the most exciting stories in Champagne today — the definition of a boutique Champagne producer. Independently owned, a small, young and dynamic team handles every step of production from grape reception to labeling in their jewel of a facility with incredible precision, crafting Chardonnay-focused wines that deliver immense pleasure, freshness and elegance.
