BOLLINGER

It's a year and a half since we last reviewed the Special Cuvée so it's almost certain that there's a new vintage base in here along with the reserve wine component. It's no coincidence that we've given it the same score, however, because it's maintained its consistency in both style and quality, a wonderfully rich and malty Champagne with underlying notes of prune and biscuit and a superbly nutty, expansive mousse that glides sensually across the tongue. Rating: 92 The Wine Gang - www.thewinegang.com (Feb 2016)

A Champagne in good form, the nose has a playful contradictory nature with complexity that comes from deep within the DNA cast against some very fresh notes - lime citrus, lime leaf, lemon, nectarine, white cherry and deeper more brambly red fruits, plus gentle spices and freshly roasted nuts, all here. The palate has supple, smooth and creamy texture with a flavorsome wrap of fleshy peach and white cherry flavor. Smooth, deep and round, acidity holds fresh right through to the fresh almond finish. Rating: 92 James Suckling, www.jamessuckling.com (Jul 2015)

(60% Pinot Noir, 25% Chardonnay and 15% Pinot Meunier; 8 g/l dosage; L1403801): Pale yellow. Toasty aromas of apple and pear nectar are complemented by hints of toffee, honey and orange zest. Full and expansive on the palate, offering ripe orchard and pit fruit flavors and an undercurrent of smoky minerals and buttered toast. Smooth and gently spicy on the clinging, nicely focusd finish. Rating: 90 Josh Raynolds, www.vinousmedia.com (Jan 2015)

The NV Brut Special Cuvée is fabulous. Hints of pears, pastry crust and hazelnut lead to an expansive core of fruit. There is plenty of the signature Bollinger oxidative style in this rich, enveloping Champagne. Once again the Special Cuvée is one of the best Champagnes in its price range. This is Lot L114501. Disgorged April 26, 2011. Drinking range: 2013 - 2015 Rating: 91 Antonio Galloni, www.vinous.com (Dec 2011)

(a blend of 60% pinot noir, 25% chardonnay and 15% pinot meunier; the blend is in large proportion from 2 and 3 year old wines). Bollinger consistently seems to deliver with this wine and once again, this is really a lovely effort with its lemon and white flower aromas that complement the solidly complex, crisp and very pure flavors that possess fine detail and excellent intensity on the yeasty and lingering finish. Though the effervescence is not ultra fine, neither is it coarse and among the bigger houses, this is one of the better larger production cuvées. Rating: 90 Allen Meadows, www.Burghound.com

Yellow-gold. Smoky pear and toffee on the nose, with an exotic orange peel quality adding complexity. Pliant orchard fruit flavors deliver serious palate-staining depth, and show good cling to the finish. A classic example of Bollinger, with the oomph to take on rich foods. Rating: 89 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

Aromas of ripe apple, coriander, ginger, earth and lanolin. Rich, fat, ripe and spicy, with creamy flavors of brioche, cinnamon and butter. Conveys an impression of rather high dosage for Bollinger, but this is partly a function of the wine's ripeness and sheer weight. Ultimately offers a pleasing sugar/acid balance. Finishes quite long and spicy. Rating: 90 Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (Nov 2003)