1990 Bollinger R.D. Extra Brut

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.