Bollinger R.D. Extra Brut 2007 (RP97) (1500ml)

Country:             France
Region:               Champagne Rating:                RP97, WS96, D93
Grape Variety:  70% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay
Type of Wine:   Champagne
Bottle Size:        1500ml

By Robert Parker's Wine Advocate 97
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.

Wine Spectator 96
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.

Decanter 93
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.