Bollinger Champagne R.D. Extra Brut 1990 1.5Ltr

This wine was recommended, but no tasting note was given.

A full-bodied, powerful Champagne featuring biscuit and ginger aromas and flavors, picking up a grilled nut character on the finish. Very firmly structured and dry, yet with the flavor intensity and fine texture to match, this is a tour de force. Endless finish. Drink now through 2020. 60 cases imported. (Collectible)

A well-stored bottled of the 1990 Bollinger R.D. was at its apogee on New Year's Eve, although I suppose a British taster might have waited even longer. Bollinger is known for its very full-bodied, dry style-this is dinner-table Champagne-so it came as no surprise that the R.D. bottling from the very rich, ripe 1990 growing season was remarkably mouthfilling. The surprise was how much energy and power this full gold-colored wine still had, a quarter-century after the harvest. The cork emerged with a discreet pffft, and the R.D. showed a slow but very fine stream of bubbles in the glass. Its fully developed nose and palate displayed a strong uni aroma (and that was before our uni course arrived!), complicated by deeply pitched notes of hazelnut, toffee, roasted nuts, truffle and baked bread, plus a faintly oxidative whiff of Calvados. The shocker was the back half of the wine: incredibly tactile and layered, with explosive vinosity and a saline, mounting, palate-staining finish.

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