2007 Champagne Bollinger, La Grande Année, Brut

The 2007 vintage was cool-ish (spring’s warm weather was halted by a relatively cold August, common in Atlantic-influenced vintages) which is a departure from the other vintages of this warm decade. There is a certain gravitas that engendered a reserved character when the wine was first released, but it is now opening up.

You can almost nose the coolness, with white flowers and citrus to the fore. Gentle swirling releases bolder berried fruit, that classic Bollinger Morello cherry note with kirsch liqueur adding succulence. The finish adds soft oak spice and I’m sure I detected a hint of truffle sous-bois, a foretaste of its future perhaps? And with similarities to the 1988 vintage, I predict a long and assured future ahead.