Bollinger La Grande Annee Brut 1999

Professional Ratings

• 96 Wine Enthusiast
  With this vintage, there are signs of a wine that is maturing fast. That’s the initial impression. But at the same time, there are wonderful dry fruits, minerality and sweet hazelnuts, all finely in balance. The layers get more complex, bringing in toast as well as acidity. Almost ready, but worth aging.
• 94 Wine Spectator
  A beautiful Champagne, from the complex floral-, coffee- and brioche-scented nose to the graphite, vanilla and citrus flavors. Light-weight and intense, with a lively structure and a long, lingering finish. Drink now through 2018. 2,500 cases imported.
• 94 Wine & Spirits
  Vibrant complexity drives this wine, one of the best from the 1999 vintage. The spice, leather and green fruit aromas hold its energy, while cool, earthy limestone grounds that tension, compacts it into powerful mineral flavors. As muscular as that structure may be, it’s beautifully balanced by the natural sweetness and freshness of the fruit—like the sweet pea and lima bean character of grüner veltliner. This has come a long way since we tasted it last year, and shows exceptional potential for further aging.
• 92 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The 1999 La Grande Annee is a refined, elegant wine with pretty, exotic notes of apricots, peaches, honey, flowers, smoke and toasted oak. There is notable clarity and precision, in a style that is generous and approachable. The 1999 La Grande Annee is 63% Pinot Noir and 37% Chardonnay, of which 82% came from grand cru vineyards while 18% came from premier cru sites spanning a total of 16 villages. The wine was aged in oak and dosage was 7-9 grams. This bottle was disgorged in July, 2007. I also tasted the February, 2008 disgorgement which showed a more opulent, quality that I found utterly sensual and irresistible. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2014.