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Displaying results 0 - 10 of 75

(2024) Apanage Brut 1874 is based on Pommery's 'réserve perpétuelle' that forms a significant part of the blend. This release is based on the 2018 vintage, blended with components of 2015 and 2012. The wine spent 48 months on the lees and was bottled with 'a low dosage'. Aromatically it's all about brioche and biscuit, with Golden Delicious fruit and a nutty background. The foamy mousse precedes a relatively crisp palate, plenty of citrus and a prickle of nettles or herbs. The biscuity richness fills in again, for a balanced Champagne with good length.
(2023) The grape for which Bollinger is most famous, Pinot Noir, this comes mostly from the Grand Cru village of Aÿ and has a moderate dosage of 6g/l. It is based on the 2018 vintage, but has 50% reserve wines, including 25% of the 2009 vintage from Aÿ, aged in magnums. In the house style, 50% of the wine was fermented in oak barrels. Plenty of creamy, nutty autolysis, a meaty umami nuance, but there's a highly perfumed floral and herbal lift too. A really intriguing, multi-layered aromatic. The palate has brisk acidity, plenty of dry, pithy lemon, and core of firm Asian pear fruit. Textured and juicy, but taut in the finish, this is delightful.  
(2023) Made from 100% Chardonnay, this is sourced from easterly planted vineyards in the Côtes de Blancs and stays three years on the lees. Very biscuity, those yeasty, umami notes of autolysis are nicely balanced against lemon fruit. The palate is dry - not sure of the dosage here, but seems low - allowing the citrus to power through, though always over a nutty, yeasty background. Probably my favourite wine of this trio.
(2023) All Chardonnay, from the family's Grand Cru vineyards in Chouilly, this has a really elegant, bright and attractive nose. As well as plenty of verve and freshness there is almond and biscuit, hints of breadth too. The mousse is not too aggressive, and that lovely combination of floral and mineral clarity, backed up by creaminess and a little toast, makes for charming and delicious drinking.
(2023) With base wines fermented and aged in barrel, this was put into bottle in April 2014 and disgorged exactly five years later, with an Extra Brut 4g/l dosage. Some warmth to the colour and a lovely nose, with meaty umami and truffle depth and lots of toast underpinning lemon fruit. In the mouth there's lots of layered complexity here, a mouth-filling mousse and striking, pithy acidity, some apricot and lemon fruit, again hints of truffle and light earthiness. Finishing with a sour lemon squeeze of acidity, it's a delicious Extra Brut.
(2023) L.T.S stands for 'Long Term Storage', this having spent 12 years maturing in the Legras & Haas cellars. Disgorged December 2020, only 1000 bottles were released of this Blanc de Blancs from Grand Cru vineyards in Chouilly, the dosage being 3.5g/l. It has a golden hue and attractive, developed aromas of bruised pear and apple, a honeyed note, moving into preserved lemon and a certain meatiness. In the mouth it is quite full and sapid, but the streaking citrus maintains a very fine line into the finish. No UK stockists listed at time of review.
(2023) This Extra Brut cuvée with only around 2g/l dosage is 100% Chardonnay, again from the family's Grand Cru vineyards in Chouilly. All Legras & Haas wines have a linear, very decisive line, but here that mineral and lemon zip is enhanced by the low dosage, but crucially not at the expense of fruit. The juiciness of the mid-palate, layered with just a little creaminess developing, results in a refined aperitif style of great quality.
(2022) The base wine here is the excellent, low-yielding 2012 vintage. As always, reserve wines from previous vintages make up a substantial proportion of the Grande Cuvée, in this case 10 different vintages adding up to 42% of the final blend. It opens with very gentle biscuit and hazelnut, touches of yeasty, lightly earthy quality. On the palate so taut and lemony, but with a breadth of texture, showing some honey and nuttiness that adds weight and richness.
(2022) 100% Chardonnay, from Grand Cru vineyards in Cramant, Oger, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Chouilly. After 18 years on the Lees, the wine was disgorged on 21st September 2021. The dosage is 6 g/l. There is a burnished depth to the colour. I found it took a few minutes for the nose to open up, then revealing lots of yeasty, nutty and meaty umami character. Slow to evolve notes of buttery pastry become creamier. In the mouth, there's a certain lemony strictness to this. The meatiness continues, bready rather than fruity flavours, but bags of mouthwatering lemon acidity. A touch of saline makes itself felt right on the finish.
(2022) Grapes are sourced exclusively from Grands Crus sites in the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims, Chardonnay (70%) and Pinot Noir (30%). The dosage is 6g/l. There's a meatiness and bready depth on the nose once again, with complex yellow plum and little charcuterie notes flecked with floral and preserved lemon nuances. In the mouth the mousse is creamy, and this develops as such a sumptuous and complete Champagne, textured and ripe in terms of the mid-palate fruit, then the cool, sheer apple and lemon acidity of the finish. Gorgeous stuff.
Displaying results 0 - 10 of 75