Bollinger R.D. Extra Brut, Champagne, 2007, 75cl

Disgorged on July 10, 2020, with three grams per liter 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.- William Kelley, Wine Advocate (March, 2021)

R.D., or Recenty Disgorged, is a Bollinger hallmark. This wine has stayed on its lees for many years before release, giving it intensity, maturity and great depth. The wine is powerful, concentrated and elegant. Drink now. Roger Voss

Medium green yellow, golden reflections, fine, stable mousse. Some cookie, fine blossom honey, white nougat, candied orange zest underpinned by juicy yellow apple nuances and ripe greengage plum, a hint of lime. Complex, juicy, white pear fruit, very finely structured, mineral, delicately fruity-sweet finish, has great length, a multi-faceted food companion with development ageing potential.

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 lime freshness and chalky minerality at the super-long, bone-dry finish. Disgorged 28th May, 2021.