| Region | |
|---|---|
| Subregion | France > Champagne |
| Colour | White |
| Type | Sparkling |
This is a regal and heroic Bollinger characterized by restrained power and energetic energy. I love meeting this untouched force and carefully analysing its sublime elements, but at the same time I have to admit that we are dealing with a real "vin de garde" that will not reach its maximum capacity before its 25th birthday. The structure is impressive, based of course on the high acidity of the vintage in the first place. This very high acid means that the other building blocks can appear as subordinate, but they have a great wealth of both oak embossed secondary aromas and flaunted dark fruit. At present, the aromatic spectrum is characterized by fresh hazelnuts from Piedmont, green apples, critical minerals and perfumed orange blossoms. Buy a box and follow its aromatic journey to heaven.
Bollinger's 2008 La Grande Année is superb, wafting from the glass with aromas of crisp orchard fruit, ripe lemons, honeycomb, warm biscuits, dried white flowers and a delicate top note of walnuts and fino sherry. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, broad and vinous, with a beautifully refined mousse, superb concentration at the tightly wound core, incisive acids and a supremely elegant intermingling of Bollinger's oxidative stylistic signatures with fresh, vibrant fruit. The finish is long, precise and chalky. This is a Grande Année built for the cellar—the real excitement will come with a bit more bottle age—but this is already a thrilling Champagne in the making. Finished with eight grams per liter dosage, it was disgorged by hand in July 2018. This is also the first vintage of Grande Année to be bottled in Bollinger's new narrower-necked 1846 bottle, which should make for a slower evolving wine.
Drink Date
2022 - 2060
Pale straw colour. Outstanding nose, bringing lively citrus fruit, fresh bread, toasted cereals and deep biscuity brioche in equal measure. This has the x-factor, with a multi-dimensional and complex aroma that manages impressive ripeness, savoury depth and overarching freshness all in one. If anything, the palate is even better. The acidity is immediate and impressive, high but beautifully balanced by the intense fruit at the core. Harmonious between the fruit and savoury depth of lees ageing. The mousse is peristent and generous - creamy rather than prickly. Intensity builds on the finish adding both breadth and depth. A first class Champagne that is already delicious but can only improve over the coming decades.
A wonderfully elegant, pure and airy nose is beautifully layered with its pretty array of green apple, pear, white flower, rose petal, yeast and plenty of citrus elements. The elegance continues on the racy and intense flavors that are supported by a very fine mousse that imparts a lilting mouth feel to the notably dry, crisp and strikingly complex finale. This is an absolute knockout and a wine that should age for a very long time but because the complexity is so impressive, it could actually be enjoyed now. Even so, I will stash my bottles away for at least another 4 to 5 years.
Pale straw in colour with a vibrant mousse. Highly perfumed on the nose with intense floral notes and fresh brioche. A hint of smoked almond and an attractive spiciness. Melon and citrus fruits. Wonderful concentration and complexity. Classic Bollinger in a big, robust Pinot Noir predominant style. This wine has incredible richness but with an impressive steely cut in fresh citric acidity and magnificent structure. Great tension between ripe and opulent stone fruits and zesty minerality. Opulent, intense and complex; this is a fabulous Bollinger which is irresistible already but also has superb potential to age. Possibly the best 2008 release which we have tasted so far and the best young Bollinger Grande Annee that any of us can remember. Highly recommended. 71% Pinot Noir & 29% Chardonnay. Disgorged April 2018.
The 2008 La Grande Année is another brilliant 2008 that delivers the goods. Straight-up awesome notes of stone fruits, white flowers, honeysuckle, and an incredible, liquid rock-like minerality all emerge from the glass, and it develops more nuance, spice, toasted bread, and an almost Alsatian Riesling-like petrol character over the course of the evening. It’s a full-bodied, rich, powerful Champagne, yet like the top 2008s, it has brilliant precision, purity, and focus. It’s unquestionably one of the finest versions of this cuvée ever produced, although it needs another 4-5 years of bottle age to hit prime time. It should keep for 3-4 decades. Bravo!
