|
Cellar/Tasting Notes
This is a cracker of a wine, it's layered and complex with freshly baked bread, lemon tart, apple pie, cinnamon, spice, toast and a whiff of smokiness. There is a comforting richness on the palate which is full of mineral laced citrus fruits, spice, chalk and herbal hints. It's fresh, vivacious, displays harmony and a refreshing acidity on the lingering finish.
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (RP): 94 "The 2002 Brut La Grande Annee is marvelous. The 2002 is an understated Grande Annee that caresses the palate with layers of effortless, weightless fruit. The mousse is exceptionally fine, which adds to the impression of total elegance. This is a relatively bright, floral Grande Annee with plenty of aromatic lift, inner perfume and no sense of heaviness at all. A rich, creamy finish adds the final note of complexity and pedigree. The 2002 is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, 71% from Grand Cru villages and 29% from Premier Crus. Disgorged February 2011. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2022. " Wine Spectator (WS): 94 "Ripe, appealing flavors of peach, Gala apple, toast and blood orange mix with a streak of minerality, racy acidity and spice notes, all set on the fine-grained texture. Fresh and focused, with a long, mouthwatering, nut-tinged finish. Drink now through 2025." Wine & Spirits (W&S): 98 "There is Champagne, and then there is 2002 Bollinger. This wine makes me dizzy, stammering in cross-eyed bliss. Taking a step back, the sustained chord of flavor comes into focus, revealing a limestone honey: scents of acacia, marzipan, apricot and golden citrus. Jamal Rayyis, one of our tasters with the broadest flavor library in his head, described the scent as loomi (dried lime) and dried apricot, as if walking into a Middle Eastern market. Flavor details aside, the wine’s richness softens the structural grandeur of the vintage, which is buoyed in a mineral bath of power. This will reward another ten or 20 years of age, and the bottles that remain will likely only feed the wine's legend." |