Highlights: Champagne Bollinger Rosé NV
Unfortunately, unlike the regular NV, I can’t get this in the local convenience store for £34. But I really like what Bollinger are doing at the moment: their wines have complexity and focus, and this is one of the best NV rosés out there, I reckon.
Champagne Bollinger Rosé NV France (half bottle)
12% alcohol. This contains a majority of reserve wines, and some of these are aged under slight pressure (after a small referment) in magnums. This is one of the keys to the Bollinger style. This rosé is an orange/gold colour and has lovely flavours of spice, orange peel, apple and grapefruit. There’s lovely balance between the fruit and savoury characters of this wine, and the half bottle format seems to have added some savoury, spicy complexity compared with the wine I had from bottle recently, although this could be a slightly older wine, too. [The lot number indicates this was a 2022 disgorgement, so the base wine is probably 2018]. There’s lovely complexity here with some dried herb character on the finish. 93/100 (UK retail is c. £58, available from Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Majestic and others)