TN: NV Bollinger Special Cuvee

WINE TALK
1

Quite possibly my best bottle yet. L827104 on the label. Did I get the Golden Ticket? Did they sneak some 99 Grand Annee into some NV bottles?

Tastes like it.

This particular bottle is chock full of the cinnamon spice that I love in the NV - there’s lots of violet nuances as well. Mouthcoating with great length.

Like any type of wine, I find there’s a ton of bottle variation with the Special Cuvee. This one wasnt fooling around.

2

Thanks for the heads up PMC. I just checked my 6er and all are L827104!!

That good huh? [good.gif]

3

Yep, killer and from Upper Falls.

I debated pulling the trigger on a second bottle - going with a Peroni beer instead.

4

The latest release is quite nice. I wouldn’t bet on much 99 in the blend, but the details are… disgorged sometime in the summer of 2008 with 2004 as a base wine with a good amount of 2003 and around 10% of older reserves.

5

Sounds great! The only taste I’ve had was at a Bolly event in NY last year, and I was quite turned off by the Special Cuvee. It almost had a demi-sec taste to it.

However, this is a huge argument for more NVs to have batch codes or something to signify what is actually in the bottle.

6

Rick - I’ve definitely had some “sweet” versions of the Bolly Special! Total turnoff - but this batch is dry as a desert.

Brad - I was just playin’ re: the 99 GA, but the wine was pretty darn dense and expansive! Does the 04 at the end refer to the “latest” vintage in the blend? FWIW - I really like the 04 Dhondt Bdb, how do you find the vintage?

7

The 04 at the end refers to the batch of the day. You have batch 4 which of course is much better than batch 3 and 1, but oh that batch 2 was killer. :smiley:

I like the 04 Dhondt, but don’t find it anything special. That said, the 02 Dhondt was a tough act to follow. Overall 04 is a nice vintage and one to look out for. As a whole it is better than everything between 96 and 08 except for 2002, but 98 is very uniform and appealing to most (as it drinks well now) & 99 has some great wines, but also a lot of disappointments which holds it back. 02 is clearly better and 08 is shaping up very well (probably better than 02).

A few very good 04s to date (not a whole lot released yet and some of my favorites are pre-release tastes): Marc Hebrart Special Club, Taittinger Comtes Rose, Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, Cedric Bouchard’s range, Jerome Prevost, and Veuve Clicquot Rose.

The 99 Grande Annee and Grande Annee Rose are killer. Can’t wait to try an RD!

8

Explain the batches, I got confused…(disclamer, I’m polish, so it happens [highfive.gif] )

I might have a busted palate, but I’ve actually liked the 97s I’ve tasted (Bolly GA, Chiquet Spec Club, Goisses). The only 98s I like are Pols Brut and Bdb.

9

I wouldn’t worry about the batch as it actually refers to a run of bottles being labeled so it doesn’t matter.

I’m not a big fan of 97 as a vintage as I find the wines rather bland and boring, but Chiquet’s Special Club was nice (and seemingly they made a lot of it as it was everywhere for a long time) and so was Clos des Goisses. Salon and Vilmart’s Coeur de Cuvee and Cuvee Creation are probably my favorites. 98 is easy drinking to me. Normally a safe bet. Perrier-Jouet’s Belle Epoque/Fleur de Champagne is a good example of a solid tete de cuvee that is tasty and as a bonus often discounted. I also really like Duval-Leroy’s Blanc de Chardonnay for the price as it is fruity and toasty - no need to cellar any further. Henri Billiot was also really good in this vintage.

10

I loved PJs Belle/Fleur (hated the 99).

So sad that one of my 3 x 98 Creations was corked [1928_middle_finger.gif] (the finger is for the cork).

11

I do have 3 maggies of this wine, purchased for $90. I bought them since I really liked it out of the 750’s.

Keep up the good work Peter!!!

12

Thanks PMC. Consistently a go to wine for me. If you like cinnamon spice in your Champers the 2002 Billiot Brut is a must try.

13

Sold - I saw WinEx has some.