Champagne Bollinger, founded in 1829, is one of Champagne’s few remaining family-owned Grande Marque houses. Located in Ay, in the heart of the Côte des Noirs, it is renowned for the high percentage of Pinot Noir it uses and for the extra aging on the lees that its Champagnes receive.
94 Points Vinous
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.