Extracted from a thread just posted: 4 wines tasted blind at dinner: 2012 Bollinger Grande Annee, 2017 Mount Eden Estate Chardonnay, 2017 Moraga Red, 2014 Oreno
2012 BOLLINGER LA GRANDE ANNEE- blind; this is an assembly of 21 crus, mostly in Aÿ and Verzenay for the 65% Pinot Noir and in Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oiry for the 35% Chardonnay; fermentation takes place entirely in oak barrels and the wine is aged, sealed with a natural cork, for over twice as long as required by the appellation regulations; it was disgorged 7/19 and dosed at 8 gpl.
Our bottle had a deceiving light yellow color and the nose first had some wet cardboard that strongly suggested TCA, but I hesitated to share it; on the palate, advanced notes of caramel, butterscotch, ginger, honey dew melon, bruised apple, tangerine, nectarine and almond butter were most prevalent along with more of the wet card board; it was big and rich and obviously very advanced and after learning the vintage, I’d almost say it was slightly pre-moxed; we waited for 35+ minutes to see if any of the possible flaw character blew off and it did not; at 60 minutes, it was clear to me our bottle was definitely corked; once revealed, it was apparent that the bigger Bollie style with extended less contact and longer exposure to air and oak influence contributed to much of the findings; I had it as a 1998-2000 vintage champagne Brut with more Pinot Noir than Chardonnay dosed at about 8 gpl.
Cheers,
Blake
