2002 Bollinger Champagne R.D. i Original Trækasse 300 cl.

Apaisé et vineux, mais sans aucune lourdeur, ce champagne impose son immense classe et sa définition. La maturité s'exprime avec justesse et les notes de menthol et d'agrumes confit le portent avec élégance. Il est néanmoins loin d'avoir dit son dernier mot...

60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. 23 crus of which 71% are Grands Crus and the rest Premiers Crus. Dosage under 4 g/l. Very firm, savoury nose with Bollinger's trademark fungi. Very powerfully so but with excellent acidity and lift on the palate. This is touted as a 50th anniversary offering because the first RD (Recently Disgorged) vintage released on the UK market was the 1952, in 1967 (so it was three years older than this 2002). It was launched at the same time as the 1953 on the French and Swiss markets and the 1955 on the American and Italian markets. A nod to British taste for seriously mature champagne? This wine should not be served too cool. It has real weight - though does not taste heavy. I loved it on first release as Grande Annee and it is less austere now. A bit mellower and more open though still with the deep throat salve sensation on the finish.

The freshness versus development axis of R.D. is what Bollinger strives for in every release of this monumental wine. In 2002 R.D. achieves this balance like no other vintage that I have ever tasted... it is this wine that fires my passions for this exemplary House and accordingly why I am such an unwavering disciple. The 2002 vintage is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. Of the 23 Crus used to assemble this cuvée 71% of them are Grand Cru. It is also important to mention that the dosage in R.D. is always kept purposefully low (3-4 g/L or residual sugar) - this gives it epic focus and tension... The nose is nothing short of awesome. It shows remarkable restraint and focus in spite of its exotic florals, warm brioche and faint canelé notes, all straining to be let loose (this will happen with age). There is an impeccably clean and sleek chassis here, very long, tubular and with great density of flavour. It travels across the tongue like a powder-coated titanium lozenge rather than a broader, antique, galleon of years gone by. The finish brings the senses back to familiar R.D. territory with a whoosh of bitter orange and honey. While this lithe, muscular wine seems to be lighter than past vintages it isn't. It is an illusion. 2002 R.D. is fit to burst with nervous energy. This is, in effect, the ultimate 'catapult wine'. Bollinger pulls the rope back during the aging process and then releases the payload, hurling the flavour forward on release. All too often préstige cuvée Champagnes are slack and lacking in momentum. 2002 R.D. is going somewhere fast. All you have to do is flick the catch... There is a power to weight ratio in this vinous work of art that no other white wines on the planet can match. As the wine opened up, layers and layers of fruit emerged, swathed in musky scent and wild honey. This is a classic R.D. with a remarkably reined-in introduction and a rip-roaring final handshake.

Since the year 1990 made vintage wines from Bollinger in a little fruitier more peach-scented style with slightly less pronounced smokiness and nuttiness. I was always more impressed initially by the previous style, but it feels like the differences even out over time. 2002 shows lovely shy notes of peaches and honey. It hasn't developed it's typical masses of RD- character yet. In the mouth this R.D. is typically oily and rich with notes of Champignon de Paris (!), Verzenay-dominated, stringent aroma of red apple peel. The taste is beautifully balance and harmonious. I love to drink R.D.s between 18 and 24 months after release. This is a Champagne that really benefits from being served in a Burgundy glass(!) As always this is a Champagne for true gastronomy. Like the tartar of deer and oyster mayonnaise and lemon zest that we we're served at the premiere-lunch in Stockholm. This is a grand R.D. in the making.

Bollinger's 2002 R.D. is striking in its beauty. Silky and caressing on the palate, the 2002 impresses for its exceptional balance and harmony. In 2002 so many Champagnes are ripe and explosive in style, but the 2002 R.D. is quite restrained by comparison. Hints of apricot pit, smoke, almonds, spices and pears ring out on the super-finessed, inviting finish. The 2002 is going to be nearly impossible to resist in its youth, but it should also age impeccably. All the elements are in the right place. Dosage is 3-4 grams per liter. 2014 - 2029.

The sheer energy, bold complexity and shimmering minerality of La Grande Anée 2002 finds even greater focus and honed definition with half the dosage and another few years on the lees. One of Champagne's youngest late-disgorged releases, it begs for another decade for its full magnificence to emerge.

The sheer energy, bold complexity and shimmering minerality of La Grande Anée 2002 finds even greater focus and honed definition with half the dosage and another few years on the lees. One of Champagne's youngest late-disgorged releases, it begs for another decade for its full magnificence to emerge.

Super fresh, this is striking given the 10 years in the cellars; it has a fine citrus nose - plenty of lemon, grapefruit, yellow chalky notes, some lighter floral elements too. The palate is super dry (dosage at 3-4g) and there's a silky, sherbet-like texture, smooth, fine and long. The citrus flavours give way to the driving surging acidity, thunderous acidity, really driving and powerful. The finish twists very slowly through to light-toasted cashew fruit flavours, but lemon citrus prevails. This is thrilling Champagne. Disgorged 22nd October, 2013. Drink from 2016.

A wine that really needs time in the glass to show at its best, Bollinger's 2002 RD comes from a total 23 different crus (71% being Grand Cru) and is a 60/40 split of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Disgorged in 2013 after spending 11 years in bottle, it offers a dry, savory style that quickly morphs toward more stone fruits, toasted nuts, dried earth and exotic spices. Deep, pure, and incredibly chiseled on the palate, with a gorgeous texture and great finish, this is a Champagne I'd decant if drinking anytime soon. The dosage is in the 3-4 grams range, and while it's certainly on the dry/savory end of the spectrum, it offers incredible complexity and depth.

Big names do not help if you are not familiar with a certain house style, and so I can understand everyone who dislikes Bollinger's 2002 RD Extra Brut, which at first sight reveals a matured if not an old wine displaying toffee, floral (hyacinths, narcissus, sage), vegetal and spicy aromas (oak, cannabis, frankincense, black bread) -- but almost no fruit (at least no fresh fruit). This wine was disgorged in March 2014, but just needs a lot of time in the glass to develop its complexity. On the palate this is a very pure, fresh, lively, firmly structured and almost ascetic wine with complexity, but almost no sensuality. Very distinctive style.

When we tasted the 2002 Grande Année in 2012, the wine earned 95 points, impressive for its pale chalk power, its muscularity and the freshness it expressed as a ten-year-old wine. It had the scent of a sunny meadow. With two years of additional time on the lees and a lower dosage, the R.D. version of that wine is more extreme. If you break it apart you might consider how the barrel-aged base wines from 23 crus intensify the structure, or how the acidity of the vintage has sustained the bright, buzzing freshness of the peach and apple flavors. The fruit seems to be wedded to rock, so strong is the chalk streak of limestone. And yet the resonance of the wine, subsuming all of those factors, brings it together in a sumptuous texture, making it a pleasure to drink even now. It's more sensible, however, to wait. In ten years, this should begin to fulfill its promise, at the start of its prime.

When we tasted the 2002 Grande Année in 2012, the wine earned 95 points, impressive for its pale chalk power, its muscularity and the freshness it expressed as a ten-year-old wine. It had the scent of a sunny meadow. With two years of additional time on the lees and a lower dosage, the R.D. version of that wine is more extreme. If you break it apart you might consider how the barrel-aged base wines from 23 crus intensify the structure, or how the acidity of the vintage has sustained the bright, buzzing freshness of the peach and apple flavors. The fruit seems to be wedded to rock, so strong is the chalk streak of limestone. And yet the resonance of the wine, subsuming all of those factors, brings it together in a sumptuous texture, making it a pleasure to drink even now. It's more sensible, however, to wait. In ten years, this should begin to fulfill its promise, at the start of its prime.

R.D. er det bedste huset formår, den frigives først efter 10 års lagring. 60% Pinot Noir og resten Chardonnay. . 95% stammer fra Grand Cru og 1. Cru-marker. 11 års lagring. Citrus og grønne æbler i duften som i øvrigt er intens og yderst flot. Limefrugt, fersken, flint, gærede toner. Yderst elegant med en lang eftersmag. Stadig meget ung så kan med fordel gemmes mange år endnu.

Udfordrende og inciterende Bollinger Champagne R.D. fra den netop frigivne årgang 2002. Vinen er med meget lav dosage og meget stringent syre og med lidt nekrofilt præg, og er som sådan ikke en Champagne man popper til enhver given lejlighed (hvilket prisen nok også forhindrer). Men med sin markante næse med intensive noter af svampe, kombination af grape bitterhed og lime/citron syre og friskhed i munden og utrolig lange bløde eftersmag med noter af toast, er det en Champagne som vil glæde det "voksne" publikum, som vil værdsætte og nyde den mere som en vin end som en Champagne.

Forbavsende frisk efter de mange års lagring. Imponerende fylde pakket ind i en cremet fornemmelse. Det er godt lavet.

En stor champagne med en dyb og dejlig blomsterduft og en rigt facetteret smag med modne grønne druer og en fin og tilpas syre. Den er lige til at drikke nu, men kan også med fordel gemmes i nogle år.