Like Bollinger, Lallier are situated in the village of Ay but unlike Bollinger and Pol Roger they are relative newcomers to the scene. Indeed, although the Lallier family has been established in Champagne for 5 generations it was not until ’96 when James Lallier bought the premises of Champagne House Roger Brun, that the brand was established in full.
It is here that Lallier have invested heavily in land (they own a mighty 12ha which by Champagne terms is enormous) and in a state of the art winery built above a labyrinth of some of the region’s oldest cellars. These two factors allow them a very great level of quality control as well as allowing Lallier to securely mature over three-quarter’s of million bottles of Champagne - ensuring that their Grande Reserve has almost 5 years bottle age before release. These five years in bottle give Lallier a distinctive biscuity character that is uniquely champagne as well as an extremely soft mousse of super-fine bubbles.
The Grande Reserve is the ‘standard-bearer’ for Lallier. The Grande Reserve is only disgorged from the lees 3 months before release giving it a distinctive ‘RD’ character. Not surprisingly it is incredibly soft with a creamy mousse of fine bubbles. The flavour is a fine balance between white-fruits, citrus and a biscuity, brioche style. Grande Reserve has quite a low dosage (the sugary addition to all champagne after disgorgement) and is both an excellent aperitif style as well as great throughout a meal. The blend is 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay and is great value for a Grand Cru of such calibre.
Decanter Magazine 4 stars
IWC 2007 Silver
IWC 2006 Seal of approval
Recommended Guide Hachette