2006 Bollinger "Limited Edition" Rosé Champagne

The 2006 vintage in Champagne is quite a forward year and the wines are generally drinking at or close to their apogees today, and this is certainly true of the 2006 Bollinger Rosé. The wine offers up a wide open and complex nose of desiccated cherries, tangerine, a complex base of soil, a touch of clove, rye bread and a gentle topnote of smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and ready, with a good core, fine focus and balance, elegant mousse and a long, classy finish. I like this wine very much for current drinking, but I kept wondering if it were just a bit too easy-going for an eleven year-old vintage-dated bottling of Rosé from a top flight Grande Marque such as Bollinger. Should I have been hoping for just a bit more structural integrity at this point in the wine’s evolution? This is mostly of academic interest, as the wine is drinking very well right now and delivers all one could ask for, but part of me would love to have the option of tucking this away for another decade or so in the cellar and see where it might lead, but the structural chassis here is not built for such exploration. That said, it is very, very tasty at the present time! 2018-2026.

This super rich, all barrel fermented Champagne from Bollinger is usually sold as "La Grande Année" Rosé for $60 more a bottle. Since the team at Bollinger does not feel that this ripe 2006 will last a generation, they decided to sell it as regular vintage- a first for them. Since it was originally made as "La Grande Année" Rosé, this wine it has been aged all the time on the lees on a cork rather than a crown cap. This is a full, toasty, powerful dry style that will thrill fans of this house, at a price that is too good to miss!