750 ml
Wine Spectator 94 Points: “A rich, smoky Champagne, with hints of marzipan and fennel seed accenting honeyed malt, bread dough, baked apple and gingersnap flavors. It’s all focused by intense acidity, which meshes beautifully into the layers of flavor and refined texture, with a lingering finish.”
Robert Parker 92 Points: “Bollinger’s NV Brut Special Cuvée is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier, and the grapes are mostly (more than 85%) sourced in Grand Cru and Premier Cru villages. The majority of the Special Cuvée is reserve wines, part of which have been aged in magnums for five to 15 years. . . . . displays an intense golden-citrus color and has a refreshing, concentrated bouquet of citrus fruits, sweet cherries, ripe apples, white flowers, toast, walnuts, ripe apricots and peaches, with just a touch of brioche. On the palate, this is an intense, very elegant and refined cuvée with a very long, refreshing, intense, aromatic and salty finish. This is an excellent Champagne with a beautiful chalky texture in the aftertaste.
I have tasted an excellent, beautifully fresh, precise and and persistent range of Bollinger Champagne. The Brut Rosé is just fabulous and helps to bridge the time we have to wait for the promising and highly refined 2007 Grande Année Rosé that still needs some years in the bottle to play out its class and complexity. 2007 saw a very early harvest, and the exceptional wines are characterized by freshness and finesse. For the moment, I prefer the very fine, elegant and chalky style of the Grande Année Rosé to the more rich and full-bodied Blanc. I’m also excited to follow the evolution of the 2004 R. D. Extra Brut that was just disgorged in February and combines freshness with maturity but will improve over the years. The 2014 La Côte aux Enfants, a 12% alcohol Pinot Noir from Aÿ, is a filigreed red Coteaux Champenois and is fabulous in its lightness, purity and elegance. However, it is still young and peppery and needs some years to gain more complexity.”