1990 Bollinger R.D. Extra Brut
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Tasting notes
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.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Disgorged 7 Mar 2011. Early budbreak and spring frosts. Second generation berries, post frosts, were picked in mid October. Exceptionally sunny summer and high sugars. 69% Pinot Noir, 16 villages, 67% grands crus. 11,963 kg/ha, dosage 0.4 g/l, initial potential alcohol 10.7%(!), TA 8.0 g/l . This was the first vintage shown in Paris that had not been shown in London a year earlier. What an extraordinary wine! Very deep gold. Very exotic nose of heady tropical fruits and flowers. Sweet candied orange peel nose and remarkably low acidity on the palate. Very charming now – suddenly into a wine on its plateau or even perhaps starting the gentle decline. Rich and alcoholic – very much the product of its vintage rather than the house. (JR)
This wine was recommended, but no tasting note was given.
This wine was recommended, but no tasting note was given. Wine Advocate.December, 2002
About the producer
Bollinger is one of the most renowned and coveted Champagne Houses in the world, famous for its Pinot-Noir-dominant wines, in particular La Grande Année and the rare Vieilles Vignes Françaises (from pre-phylloxera vines).