Bollinger Champagne R.D. Extra Brut (2nd Disgorgement) 2008 750ml

The late-disgorged edition of La Grande Année 2008 continues to dazzle, showing beautifully controlled, promising evolution since its debut in 2023. Roasted hazelnut, brown pastry and buttery apricot tart hint at decadence, with the nut-milk creaminess and iodine-like notes of RD still held in check beneath the sheer force of the vintage’s drive and citric energy. A huge, buzzing finish promises longer life still for this show-stopping Champagne. 71% Pinot Noir and 29% Chardonnay from the Montagne de Reims, Grande Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs, vinified in old oak barrels and disgorged by hand after 13 years on lees.

• Country: France
• Region: Champagne
• Size: 750ml
• Alcohol by Vol: 12.5%

Varietal

Champagne Blend

The sparkling wines of Champagne have been revered by wine drinkers for hundreds of years, and even today they maintain their reputation for excellence of flavor and character, and are consistently associated with quality, decadence, and a cause for celebration. Their unique characteristics are partly due to the careful blending of a small number of selected grape varietals, most commonly Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. These grapes, blended in fairly equal quantities, give the wines of Champagne their wonderful flavors and aromas, with the Pinot Noir offering length and backbone, and the Chardonnay varietal giving its acidity and dry, biscuity nature. It isn’t unusual to sometimes see Champagne labeled as ‘blanc de blanc’, meaning it is made using only Chardonnay varietal grapes, or ‘blanc de noir’, which is made solely with Pinot Noir.