BY MARK CERULLI
Although Bond and Jill
Masterson famously quaffed Dom Perignon in Goldfinger (right before she
met her “glittering endâ€), Bollinger has been Bond’s go-to on screen champagne
since the early Roger Moore era.
Over the decades since, the
vintner has been canny enough to celebrate their cinematic tie-in by releasing
a number of limited edition 007-themed bottles over the years, usually
coinciding with each new film.
To celebrate the 25th
Bond movie, No Time to Die, Bollinger really went all out, releasing two
special editions – one within the reach of most Bond fans and one for the more,
um, rarified collector…
The first edition, produced
in limited quantities, is a real work of art – the bottle itself has the names
of all 24 previous Bond films as part of a swirling “25â€. The outer case is a
wood veneer and glass gift box that opens when pressed. The glass top is etched with the logos of
each Bond release from Dr. No on up. Oh, yes, there IS a beverage inside – a 2011 Millésime with notes of
“hazelnut, vanilla and subtle flavors of plum and honey†which by all accounts
is quite delicious, although who’s going to open their bottle? If you can find it, it’s a steal at around
$200.
To commemorate the 40th
anniversary of Moonraker and the Bollinger/Bond association, there is an
even more exquisite release – a magnum of 2007 Millésime nestled in a Saint
Louis crystal ice bucket, tucked inside a pewter and wood veneer case in the
outline of a space shuttle. Each is
numbered and hand finished with a total edition of just 407 worldwide. Adding to its exclusivity is its price tag – around
$5,600. However, as one wine site noted,
this champagne is drinkable until 2030, so there’s that…
Champagne Bollinger has
made numerous appearances in the films (as in the pre-credits sequence of The
Living Daylights when Bond drops in on a woman luxuriating on the deck of a
yacht and sipping a glass of Bollinger) so it’s as much a part of the Bond
legend as the tuxedo or Walther PPK. If
you’re interested in snagging a bottle for your cellar… or in-home Bond
display, hurry, they are selling out – although more are on the way, timed to
hit stores right around No Time to Die’s release.
Cheers!