This is a highly regarded vintage by the Bollinger team. It is certainly more mature and evolved on the nose than the 2000, showing good secondary characteristics including mushroom and coffee, latter showing more caramelly style. This is very open and expressive, forceful and brimming with character, and these qualities carry through onto the palate where there are notes of honey, brazil nuts and dried mushrooms, later hints of truffles and dried oranges. This has a great style and lots of impact, and although very evolved it has wonderful acidity suggesting it will continue to develop for a few years yet. Great finish. This is wonderful.

  Wine notes

This is a highly regarded vintage by the Bollinger team. It is certainly more mature and evolved on the nose than the 2000, showing good secondary characteristics including mushroom and coffee, latter showing more caramelly style. This is very open and expressive, forceful and brimming with character, and these qualities carry through onto the palate where there are notes of honey, brazil nuts and dried mushrooms, later hints of truffles and dried oranges. This has a great style and lots of impact, and although very evolved it has wonderful acidity suggesting it will continue to develop for a few years yet. Great finish. This is wonderful.

  Wine notes

Both distinctive and unique, Special Cuvee offers a simple and rare pleasure. Dazzling at the first encounter, consistently endearing when rediscovered. Tasting Special Cuvee is the proof of the power and finesse of Pinot Noir. A fine combination of palate weight and elegance, vinosity and length.

Depending on the vintage, 100% of Grand Crus and part of the Premier Crus are barrel fermented. Bollinger uses small tanks to conduct the fermentation of the other crus. Special Cuvee is a blend of wines coming from the most recent harvest, and also wines from previous harvests including reserve wines held in magnum.

Grape Variety:
Pinot Noir (60%), Chardonnay (25%) and Pinot Meunier (15%).

Technical Characteristics:
ABV - 12%
Dosage - Light. 7 - 9 g/l

Ageing:
The wine matures over a minimum period of 3 years in the Cellar.

Pairing with food:
Perfect chilled as an aperitif, or served with plain sushi, pata negra ham, lobster, scallops, grilled sea bass, quail, or cheeses such as Chaource or Brie.

Both distinctive and unique, Special Cuvee offers a simple and rare pleasure. Dazzling at the first encounter, consistently endearing when rediscovered. Tasting Special Cuvee is the proof of the power and finesse of Pinot Noir. A fine combination of palate weight and elegance, vinosity and length.

Depending on the vintage, 100% of Grand Crus and part of the Premier Crus are barrel fermented. Bollinger uses small tanks to conduct the fermentation of the other crus. Special Cuvee is a blend of wines coming from the most recent harvest, and also wines from previous harvests including reserve wines held in magnum.

Grape Variety:
Pinot Noir (60%), Chardonnay (25%) and Pinot Meunier (15%).

Technical Characteristics:
ABV - 12%
Dosage - Light. 7 - 9 g/l

Ageing:
The wine matures over a minimum period of 3 years in the Cellar.

Pairing with food:
Perfect chilled as an aperitif, or served with plain sushi, pata negra ham, lobster, scallops, grilled sea bass, quail, or cheeses such as Chaource or Brie.

The 1996 Krug Vintage is explosive on the palate, as layers of aromas and flavors meld together in a stunning display of elegance and power. This pure, sensual beauty is utterly rapturous. The relatively generous style of this wine makes it hard to resist today, but it will age for decades. This is a brilliant wine in every way.

Mar 2009 Antonio Galloni 98

Seriously precocious nose with notes of apple blossom, fresh strawberries, clotted cream, cashews and lightly toasted hazelnuts plus a barely detectable hint of oak. Great concentration of apple crumble flavours with very fine bubbles and a crisp backbone of acid. Long creamy finish. Drink 2010 to 2029. Tasted March 2009.

May 2009 Lisa Perrotti-Brown 94

Yellow appearance with burnished gold reflections. Intense nose of white flowers, citrus and red berries, followed by warmer whiffs of toast and wood. On the palate , ripe lush fruits (vine peaches) and toasty flavours. Dense, fleshy structure. Powerful finish.

The 2000 Cristal Rose emerges from the glass in a stunning display of well-articulated aromas and flavors. Everything in is perfect balance as this perfumed wine opens up in the glass in a style that recalls the weightless transparency of a great Burgundy. The finish is long, sweet and incredibly refined. I came back to the bottle several hours after opening, and the wine had blossomed into an extraordinary Champagne. In 2000 the Brut Cristal Rose is 70% Pinot Noir from Ay and 30% Chardonnay from Mesnil, Avize and Oger. Roughly 15% of the wine was aged in oak. This is Lot: L029898D100064, disgorged February 1st, 2007. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2020.

Roederer is one of the most impressive estates in Champagne. Few houses have managed to reconcile this level production in a negociant operation while achieving such a consistently outstanding level of quality across the entire range. Roederer owns 214 hectares of vineyards, which is enough to meet 65-70% of the house’s needs. The vintage wines are made from 100% estate-grown fruit, while the NV wines are made with the addition of roughly 45% purchased fruit. Generally speaking, malolactic fermentation and oak aging are used to a higher degree for the NV range than for the vintage wines. Dosage varies as well, and ranges from 11-12 grams for the entry-level wines to 9-10 for the tete de cuvee Cristal. Unfortunately because if its rabid following the vast majority of Cristal is drunk upon release, which is ironic, if not downright tragic, considering Cristal is a wine that starts peaking around age 15-20, and that can last much longer under ideal storage conditions. With Cristal, Chef de Caves Jean-Baptiste Lecaillon aims to make an ageworthy Champagne that is fresh and floral when young, but that is also capable of considerable development with bottle age, qualities the finest Cristals have in spades. In the best vintages one tank of Cristal Rose is also made that features the exquisite Pinot Noir of Ay. Unfortunately Roederer does not provide disgorgement dates for its wines, but the bottles have codes that can be traced back to dates at the winery. It would be great to see this venerable property add a simple disgorgement date, at least for their top wines, considering the significant financial investment required to purchase them.

Dec 2008 Antonio Galloni 95

Another blockbuster, long-term wine from proprietor Anthony Barton, this 2008 is among the biggest, most back-strapping efforts of the vintage. As with many vintages of Leoville Barton, it is best forgotten for another decade. An inky/purple color is followed by notes of forest floor, camphor, red and black fruits, and a hint of wood. This brawny, masculine-styled St.-Julien possesses huge body, massive concentration, and mouth-searing levels of tannin. However, the tannins are much sweeter than the 2005's were at the same stage, so that should not be an issue as long as potential purchasers exercise patience. This impressively pure, classic Bordeaux should be at its finest between 2020-2050.

April 2009 Robert Parker 92-94