97 1996 Bollinger Grande Annee 12/25/06 ($100)
Color: Medium deep gold with many tiny bubbles. (3.5) Bouquet: Toast with sweet/tart pear/lemon fruit. Forwardly aromatic. (3.5) Body: Heavyweight, yet classy. Beautifully balanced with intense fruit, acidity and toast. (4.0) Flavor: Parallels bouquet, but less forward. (3.0) Finish: Long, tart, toasty and sweet with delicious multi-dimensional fruit. Gorgeous! (4.0)
Overall: This is as fine as it was this time last year. It’s a little more developed making it more elegant and less youthfully intense. It has enough weight to stand up to food, but is elegant enough, despite its size, to be savored by itself. This is a wine I could drink every day and never tire of. Drink it with only a slight chill, say cellar temperature, to experience everything it has to offer. (18.0)