When I was tasting Bollinger's brilliant Grande Annee in this vintage, I was trying to imagine how good the 2008 Extra Brut R. D. would be, as the style of the vintage seems almost perfectly adapted to this cuvee. Four years later, we have the answer, and the wine is brilliant. Disgorged in 2022, it's more reserved out of the gates than the dramatic Grande Annee was on release, unwinding in the glass with notes of crisp orchard fruit, orange peel, freshly baked bread, subtle hints of fino sherry, wet stones and macadamia nut. On the palate, it's medium to full bodied, with a deep core of fruit that's animated by racy acids and a refined pinpoint mousse, concluding with a bone dry finish. Extremely harmonious and full of youthful energy, it's the finest R. D. of the decade and one that will richly reward a bit of additional age on cork. In style, the most obvious comparison is with the 1996, but the 2008 is more integrated and harmonious on release. These bottles were disgorged late last year with three grams per liter dosage.

The 2008 vintage was a great success for Bollinger, and I had been looking forward to tasting the R.D. for some time. Readers interested in more background on this cuvee, as well as tasting notes on older iterations back to 1955, are directed to my article published in the August 2022 Week 3 issue of The Wine Advocate, which delves into the origins of R.D., how it is made and its evolution over time.

◆パーカーポイント：98+点
◆飲み頃：２０２５〜２０４５年