Bollinger’s archives contain an unusual letter, penned by Madame Lily Bollinger herself in 1963 and addressed, surprisingly, to the house of Krug. Having lost her husband Jacques, head of the house, in 1941, ‘Madame Jacques’ was entrusted with maintaining Bollinger’s prestige at a time when Champagne’s cellars were modernising.
‘At the beginning, she didn’t know the daily work of the house,’ explains Bollinger’s current chef de cave Denis Bunner. ‘But she put her trust in Andre? Bergeot, the cellar master at the time. She was loyal to oak, and she wanted to start an association to help keep the tradition.’
