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.

<img alt="" src="https://allgrapes.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads%2F1451917678865-IMG_20151231_192618+-+Copy.jpg">

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.&nbsp;94/Drinking
window: 2016-2022.

-- Stephen Tanzer

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