#74 in Top 100 Wines of France, 2025. So many dried-apple, grapefruit and buttery-croissant aromas follow through to a full body with density and richness, showing baking spices and pie crust. Turns fresh and vivid at the end with incredible acidity that contrasts the ripe fruit and electrifies your palate. 71% pinot noir and 29% chardonnay. Disgorged October 2024. Drink now.
Disgorged in October 2024 with a dosage of three grams per liter, the 2008 Extra-Brut R.D. is superb, offering a bouquet of Granny Smith apple, pomelo and almond paste, mingled with white sandwich bread and oystershell. The medium- to full-bodied palate reveals a deep, vibrant core of fruit, underpinned by racy acidity and framed by high levels of structuring dry extract that assert themselves on the sapid, precise finish. This is a brilliant wine, built to age gracefully on its acidity, and it stands as one of the greatest achievements of the vintage. Its lower dosage, to my palate, also gives it the edge over La Grande Année in terms of energy and aromatic definition.
The 2008 Champagne R.D. Extra Brut is chiseled, powerful, and packaged with a chalky mineral texture. Made from 70% Pinot Noir and the rest Chardonnay, with 3 grams per liter dosage, it pours a bright straw yellow hue, while its aromatics are more mineral-tinged and feel a touch more noble and upright in character. Aromatically, it opens to notes of toasted almond, preserved Meyer lemon, brothy saline, and vibrant fresh fruit. Displaying tension and grace, it has the richness of Bollinger but is more upright, with an electric mineral energy that courses through the finish, which lasts for days. Mouthwatering and long, it’s a stunner. It needs more time to harmonize all its components, but this is a wine to cellar for the ages, and I think this is going to be a vintage of RD we talk about for a very, very long time. Cellar it if you can and drink 2026-2056. Disgorged December 2022.
TWI
98pts
The Wine Independent
Emerging like a genie from a bottle, so full of life and magic, the Bollinger R.D. 2008 unwinds gradually to reveal aromatic layer after layer of white peach, Meyer lemon confit, kumquat, wafer cookies, wet stones and acacia honey intermingling with bready and faintly oxidative, nutty notes. Medium to full-bodied and full of high-toned energy, the palate is wonderfully silky and lithe with a super fine, creamy mousse full of stimulating acid freshness, exquisite saline intensity, and a chalky finish with a beautiful citrus peel note. A blend of 66% Pinot Noir and 34% Chardonnay, it was disgorged 09 December 2022 and finished Extra Brut with a three gram per liter dosage. As beautiful as it is now, it has many years of excellent drinking ahead.
This focused Champagne is all about the graceful definition of power, with an up-front, austere edge to the steely acidity, which is softened by the fine, plush mousse and well-integrated with the rich profile. Reveals toasted hazelnut, crystallized honey, peach skin and nectarine flavors that expand on the palate, accented by hints of ground ginger, oyster shell, preserved lemon and a racy streak of salinity that drives the mouthwatering finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Disgorged October 2022. Drink now through 2038. 300 cases imported.
Bright in colour with gold reflections, the aromatics are immediately captivating, with marzipan, acacia, apricot and patisserie all vying for attention. It’s impossibly youthful yet reassuringly mature, a bread basket of delicious contradiction. Cerebral seduction ensues on the palate, with dried fruits, bergamot and lime joining the party, then come the hazelnut notes – which have been identified as a leitmotif for the vintage – and a clean, almost chalky finish to restore rigorous harmony. Precision in no way undermines generosity, and generosity in no way undermines potential. A very fine piece of work all in all, tasted from magnum, alongside bottle and jeroboam. Disgorged: November 2022. Dosage: 3g/L. Drinking Window: 2023 - 2050
At times the R.D. is quite exotic, even if there is a good kick of energy from the bright, salivating acids and low dosage. The 2008 R.D. is very much a Champagne for the dinner table, a wine that benefits immensely from aeration. In 2008, the blend comprises fruit from 18 villages, 71% Pinot Noir, mostly from Aÿ and Verzenay and 29% Chardonnay, mostly from Mesnil-sur-Oger and Cramant. Dosage is 3 grams of dosage. I would give this a few more years in bottle to fully come together. Disgorged: October 28, 2022.
The long lees aging is definitely evident on the beautifully layered nose of secondary fruit,
brioche, baked apple, petrol and a plenitude of citrus, floral and spice wisps. There is fine volume and mid-palate density to the utterly delicious, enveloping and solidly powerful medium-bodied flavors that deliver excellent length along with the same first-rate complexity as the nose. While this striking effort could be further aged, for my taste it’s drinking perfectly now.
Winery Notes
Abundant stewed and candied fruits on the nose, accompanied by touches of sweet spice. With time, notes of Mirabelle and preserved orange unfold in the glass. Rich and generous on the palate, with tarte tatin flavors and a full and harmonious mouthfeel. It marries perfectly with the most refined dishes, such as pigeon or roasted scallops, and intensity makes it the perfect partner for an aged Comté. – CELLAR MASTER GILLES DESCOTES
1.5Ltr
Pre-arrival
Case Only
