Lilly Bollinger

The champagne house Renaudin Bollinger founded in 1829 by Hennequin de Villermont, Paul Levieux Renaudin and Jacques Bollinger. It is based in Ay in the Champagne district of North Eastern France, where they own 160 hectares of vines.

The grandsons of Jacques Bollinger, Joseph and George, took over the running of the firm in 1885 and expanded the family estate by buying vineyards in other villages. They also did a lot of work to develop the brand culminating in them receiving a Royal Warrant from Queen Victoria in 1884 becoming the official champagne supplier to the British Royal Court.

A further expansion took place in 1918 when Jacques Bollinger, the son of George took over the company and married Lilly. They further expanded the business by building new cellars, acquiring the Tauxieres vineyards and buying another Champagne house in Ay on the Boulevard du Marechal de Lattire de Tassigny, where their Head Office is still located.

Lilly Bollinger took over operations when her husband died in 1941, and became a famous promoter of the brand, travelling the world and becoming a well-known celebrity making many witty and noteworthy quotes.

She managed Bollinger (which adopted the single name in the 1960s) until 1971 when she handed it over to her nephews Christian Bizot and Claude d’Hautefeiulle.

Bollinger produce several products under their label including a non-vintage Special Cuvee, Grande Annee (vintage), R.D. (vintage), Vieille Vignes Francaises (vintage), their prestige cuvee and a still red wine Coteaux Champenois La Cote aux Enfants (vintage).