Bollinger R.D 2008 750ml

Bollinger is renowned for its stringent quality standards. It adheres to traditional methods, including individual vinification of each marc and cru, barrel fermentation, it is the last Champagne house to employ a full-time cooper, and extra-aging on the lees prior to disgorgement.

Members of the British Royal Court were among the first to embrace Bollinger’s unmistakable quality, and Queen Victoria made Bollinger the exclusive purveyor to the Court by Royal Warrant in 1884. Besides royalty, loyal devotees have included heads of state, celebrities and even famous fictional characters: Agent 007, James Bond, demands the exclusive Champagne Bollinger.

For one of the highest regarded cuvées in Champagne there is a terrific level of modesty in the R.D. 2007, this is neither showy, nor timid but has a delightfully pure and elegant expression that every so slowly reveals itself layer by layer, self-effacing even.

The colour is medium shiny gold, with a lively mousse. The nose is open and fresh, subtle fruit notes, acacia honey, fresh walnut flesh, wild fennel, draw you in with a hint of oriental spice and a cool freshness that I associate with walking into a damp, chalky cave. The palate is just as complex with a freshness that is thrilling, taut and intense. You may find yellow Mirabelle plum, salty shortcrust pastry with a green apple skin ‘zing’ on the finish that lasts for minutes. There is a gorgeous purity, intensity and level of energy to this wine that also has a chalky breadth on the mid-palate with hints of freshly baked brioche. Bollinger references a saffron note, also in terms of its food pairing which, once it’s highlighted, is hard to ignore.

98 Points - James Suckling    What an amazing nose this has, like the smell of a rock pool on a rocky coast, but with so many candied fruit, spicy and mushroom notes behind that. That fruit is way more expressive on the powerful and structured palate with a lime freshness and chalky minerality at the super-long bone-dry finish.

97 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate    Disgorged on July 10, 2020, with three grams per litre dosage, Bollinger's eagerly awaited 2007 Extra-Brut R. D. is beautiful, unwinding in the glass with aromas of crisp orchard fruit, citrus pith and white flowers mingled with hints of honey, orange oil, buttery pastry, English walnuts and delicately spicy bass notes. Full-bodied, vibrant and incisive, it's unusually elegant and structurally fine-boned for what is routinely one of Champagne's more muscular tête de cuvées, with a bright spine of acidity that's cloaked in vibrant, concentrated fruit, complemented by a pearly pinpoint mousse and concluding with an intensely sapid finish. Long and penetrating, this is a tightly coiled R. D. that will reward bottle age.

96 Points - Wine Spectator    Minerally on the nose, with accents of sea breeze and brine, transitions on the palate to a deep and finely-knit range of ripe nectarine and dried white cherry fruit, chopped almond and espresso crema, and hints of tangerine peel, saffron and ground cardamom. Fine and lacy in texture, this is sleek and mouthwatering through to the finish, where the salinity returns, echoing a lasting note. Disgorged July 2020. Drink now through 2032.

93 Points - Decanter    A lively mousse, soft gold energy belying its extended sojourn on cork, and then an attractive nose of gorse, dried apricot, flint and baking spice. This subtle interplay between spice and fruit is re-visited on the palate, a firm backdrop of peachy acidity bolstered by orchard fruits and a hint of almond. Still a little sleepy after a relatively recent reawakening, the wine does not lack for potential, reinforced by notes of gingerbread, hazelnut and quince, all patiently underwriting the prospect of a slow-burn crescendo.