Earlier this week I got the chance to purchase and drink two very special bottles of Champagne. Both bottles were purchased from a local liquor store. They were stored on their sides in a glass case at room temperature. The '73 R.D. was stored inside its original cardboard case.
The '73 Bollinger R.D. was the first bottle we tasted through. The back labeled said it was disgorged in September of 1985. Even at 41 years, you could tell this was a Pinot driven Champagne. Flavor wise, this had a similar profile to a slightly less powerful '89 Année I had last year. The bottle opened with intoxicating gingerbread and orange peel. These were the two most prominent notes. There was also a bit of a coffee/mocha/cocoa component that played into the nice gingerbread, as well as great spice and race. By the time the second glass was poured, much of the intensity had blown off the gingerbread and spice notes and the overall wine had toned down a bit. The finish was decent, but only lasted for 20-30 seconds. This bottle was definitely passed its prime drinking window, but still holding well. I can imagine proper cellaring would have this bottle drinking impeccably right now. 95+ points.
After finishing off the '73 we moved our focus to the ‘81 Comtes Blanc de Blancs. This wines’ color appeared ever so slightly lighter in the glass than the Bollinger did. Although quite advanced, the Taittinger showed great Côte des Blancs acidity and chalkiness. Much to my surprise, the primary lemon citrus fruit was still bright and showing well at 33 years. The baked bread component wasn’t as memorable as the spicy gingerbread on the '73 R.D. as I felt the dough on this guy was taking more of a back seat to the cut of mineral driven citrus. I’d say this bottle was a little less advanced than the R.D. and could still go 10 or so more years in its current state before the lemon/ citrus notes start to fade away. The wine finished at 30+ seconds. If this bottle were cellared properly from day one I could see it easily going another 25-30 years. 95 points.
Although both these wines were “over the hill”, they were still an absolute pleasure to drink. Both bottles were still quite a ways from being “gone”. Had these seen proper storage, I imagine I’d have been closer to 100 pts. on these guys.
enjoyed reading your notes Mark. being born in 1981, it’s great to read that the CdC is still showing well. i’m always on the look out for 1981s that are holding up well, and have added this to the list.
cheers
Matt
Be on the lookout for 81 Krug collection.
Mark
Great notes on 2 cool wines!