2002 Bollinger R.D.

I've encountered some bottle variation with Bollinger's 2002 Extra-Brut R. D., but this example, disgorged in 2016, was showing especially well, offering up a deep bouquet of dried fruits, orange zest, mocha, spices, English walnuts and hazelnuts. Full-bodied, broad and enveloping, with a pillowy, seamless profile and a fleshy core, it concludes with a long, sapid finish. With two grams per liter less acidity than the more incisive 2008 (which has not yet been released as R. D.), the 2002 is a giving, expansive wine that is drinking well today.

Tasted blind. Tense, dense nose. Savoury. Lemony with marked acidity and lots to chew on. Bone-dry finish, rather a demanding nature. Intellectual wine. Quite long. One of the more evolved. A little like white burgundy plus carbon dioxide. Long. Krug or Bolly? (JR)

Disgorged 17 May 2017. 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay (usually more like 30%). Incredibly intense aromas – baked apple, cinnamon, freshly baked bread. Conventional and recognisably champagne, but to a greater, more intense degree. Some creamy coffee on the palate and wonderfully savoury salinity on the finish. Very, very long persistence. Champagne to the power of ten. (RH)