Wine legends
Champagne, France
Bollinger RD 1976, Champagne
a legend because…
R.D. stands for ‘Récemment Dégorgé’ and although Bollinger is not the only Champagne house that sometimes ages its vintage wines on the lees for longer than the usual three years, this has become a legendary wine.
The style was created by Madame Bollinger in 1961 with the 1952 vintage. Although it is usually assumed that this prolonged ageing is beneficial, the precise date of disgorgement is important, and it is not Bollinger’s practice to disgorge every R.D. cuvée at the same time. Enthusiasts argue that the extended period of lees-ageing preserves freshness and magnifies richness; however, others believe a vintage wine is fully mature when originally disgorged, and will not benefit from further bottleageing. The outcome will vary depending on the vintage, as well as other factors such as storage. The 1976 is particularly esteemed as it came from a torrid year yet has lasted well.
Looking back
Bollinger had been criticised in the early 1980s for releasing some of its non-vintage wines too young, giving them a rawness that British drinkers especially found disagreeable. Giving their wines long lees ageing was a response to this complaint, and proved very successful. The firm registered ‘R.D.’ as a trademark, which meant other houses following the same method could not use the initials. At this time the usual ageing period was around eight years, but that soon became a minimum, and some releases have been kept on lees for far longer.
The vintage
1976 was a notoriously hot year, with high temperatures and no rain during the summer. As a consequence the harvest started early, from 1 September. The wines were very rich, powerful and high in extract, but the scorching temperatures meant acidity was low. One might assume the wines would have peaked early and be in serious decline by now, but quite a few 1976s from top producers have aged very well.
The terroir
The Champagne would have been produced from the Bollingers’ 140 hectares of vineyards from 30 different crus, all classified as premier cru or grand cru. Pinot Noir dominates the vintage wines and generally composes 70% of the blend.
The wine
Like other Bollinger vintage cuvées, this would have been vinified from the first pressing. The must would have been fermented in oak barrels of varying sizes (up to 400 litres), with minimal malolactic fermentation, giving a more oxidative style, though the Bollinger team ensures there is no actual oxidation, which would tire the wine from the outset. At this stage in its life, the R.D. is the same wine as Bollinger Grande Année; it is the decision to give some of the production additional ageing that transforms it into an R.D. The R.D. will be aged under cork for a minimum of eight years, compared to five for the regular vintage wines. The riddling and disgorgement are performed by hand, and the dosage is low at 3g/l to 4g/l.
The reaction
It is important to note that an R.D. released after eight to 10 years on the lees will not be the same wine as the same vintage disgorged after 35 years. In 2010, Jancis Robinson MW tasted a bottle disgorged that same year and noted: ‘Pale bronze. Extremely rich and candied on the nose. Toasty, this just washes over you. Really hedonistic. In view of the relatively low acidity, it’s amazing how well this has lasted. Presumably the very late disgorgement helps.’ In 2013 Stephen Brook tasted a magnum disgorged four months earlier: ‘Rich toasty nose, with power and weight but no heaviness. Perhaps a touch soft but still has acidic bite. Ready to drink.’ In 2014 Michael Edwards noted of a bottle disgorged in 2010: ‘Very solid, sturdy character but miraculously with little loss of freshness and vitality.’