It isn’t everyday that I have a chance to sit with two bottles of Bollinger ‘Recently Disgorged’ (R.D.) Champagne. However, this was the case on a glorious night last weekend in Los Angeles. The idea of selling a recently disgorged older champagne is quite novel. This idea comes from the mind of Madame Bollinger and in 1967 she introduced the innovative Récemment Dégorgé, revealing a new and spectacular facet of champagne. This created an opportunity to enjoy a wine which had a very long period of aging on lees with recent disgorgement to be sold and shared with the world.
Sitting with these two wines, I was floored by the overall impression of how true each spoke to the overall vintage. 2004 was deep, concentrated and fleshy, just like the great wines made that vintage. Similarly, 2007 was bright and nervy, with formidable finesse and beautiful nuance. For my palate, the clear winner was the 2004 Bollinger ‘R.D. Extra Brut’ Champagne (OB, 97) which has to be considered one of the great champagnes of the world. While obviously quite big, this has a sensational underlying finesse and is truly singing now. Try to find a bottle while you can! Learn more at https://www.champagne-bollinger.com and here are my notes from the stunning ‘R.D.’ Champagnes by Bollinger.
2004 Bollinger ‘R.D. Extra Brut’ Champagne- The 2004 Bollinger ‘R.D. Extra Brut’ Champagne is an utterly fabulous bottle from this fleshy and opulent vintage. The wine combines 66% Pinot Noir with 34% Chardonnay, coming from 16 sites and nearly all (88%) Grand Cru fruit. Right away the wine dazzles with intense citrus oil notes alongside cantaloupe, starfruit and toasty brioche. The palate is big, bold and is very true to the great wines made this vintage. Hazelnut and lemon oil meld together with the beautiful underlying viscosity and tension. This is simply irresistible champagne to savor now and over the next ten plus years. Drink 2022-2032- 97
2007 Bollinger ‘R.D.’ Champagne- This bottle was disgorged in late 2020. A blend of 70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay which was nearly all sourced from Grand Cru vineyards, this really needs an hour to fully evolve and show its beautiful aromatic range. Salted cashew nut and white peach combine with layers of baking spice dusted marzipan and lovely peat moss accents. The palate is very fresh and refined, showing the linear aspect of this vintage. Racy acidity and bright green apples dominate the palate, as this beauty is starting to hit its stride. Enjoy now and over the next fifteen years. Drink 2022-2037- 94