原諒《大酒●聚》的 第二個Tasting Note是一枝大家起初都沒甚麼期望的香檳吧！👉👈事關應該有不少人在等待DRC、Leroy、Emmanuel Rouget、D'Auvenay的報告？🤔然而，我真的很想跟大家分享這枝看似普通的Bollinger NV ⋯⋯事關她的特別之處在於是十多年前買下來的！😱😱 【一個十幾年的實驗】
除了白酒，當晚的香檳也被安排在配角之列，只有少數三瓶，而且不是頂級酒款：Bollinger NV、1990 Bollinger Grande Annee以及2002 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill。驟眼看，Bollinger NV可說是最不起眼、最登不上大台的。😌然而，酒主真的花了無比心思⋯⋯這枝NV是十多年前買下的！當晚特意從酒倉拿出來，就是想跟在坐的酒友們做一個實驗，看看一枝普通NV在瓶內十多年後是甚麼樣子。😋很慶幸自己可以參與這一次的開瓶～可以嚐試得到一枝NV十多年後在瓶內的變化⋯⋯😍😍 【Bollinger NV v.s. 1990 Bollinger Grande Annee】
金黃色，烤烘得剛好的餅乾氣味、熟檸檬、果皮氣味，氣泡數量不算很多，但在杯內從尖端處慢慢升起，顯得格外細緻。多放一會，輕微果仁、核桃、蜜糖感在深處漸漸浮現。酸度仍然偏高卻沒有新酒那麼明顯、尖銳。厚身酒體，加上一點溶、圓滑的口感，好比一枝開始成熟的年份香檳。結構完好，餘韻雖算不上長，卻已把同場狀態不好的1990 Bollinger Grande Annee完全比下去。😮 1990 Bollinger Grande Annee 當晚完全發揮不到應有的水準😞，帶有庶水、熟白桃、些微蜜糖的氣味，入口酒體屬厚，酸度偏高卻感覺到開始下滑，而且沒有充足果味作支撐，整體感覺偏熟，中等餘韻，明顯是Condition問題的緣故，令人失望致極😣。 【始終年輕－2002 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill】
如計分數來說，2002 Pol Roger Churchill是三枝香檳中最高分的一枝。雖然開始帶有輕微甘蔗香氣，但果感則活潑得多。口感雖不像Bollinger NV般奶油，卻開始圓滑起來，而且泡沫的細緻程度明顯在口中清楚感受得到。無奈，整體來說始終年輕，不比Bollinger NV這般適飲。有待時機成熟的一天。 總結來說，這個十年實驗真的大開眼界！事前誰會想到去把一枝數百元的NV放十年？(當年應該也不用數百元) 誰又會相信一枝NV的陳年能力會如此強？今天，總算見識到，相信亦只有愛酒之人會做如此「笨拙」之事。
What do you think of a 10+ year-aged Bollinger NV?
One of my friends (of course, he is a crazy wine lover) bought some bottles of Bollinger NV 10+ years before and aged it in his wine storage. What he wants to do is to find out the differences between a aged non-vintage champagne and a vintage champagne! And, I was glad to participate in such a crazy and amazing experiment at that "Crazy Night"!
It had a beautiful golden colour with roasted biscuits, ripen lemon and citrus peel aromas. The number of bubbles were not as much as new release non-vintage champagne but they were very fine and raised from the bottom of the glass slowly. After a while, there were hints of nuts, walnuts as well as some honey flavour in depth. The acidity was high but could retain the roundness, not as sharp as 'young' champagne. Full-bodied with rich texture on the palate - it just presented as what a vintage champagne look like. Although the length was not very long, its structure was good, and obviously, the 1990 Bollinger Grande Annee was not in the same state of the game.
For the 1990 Bollinger Grande Annee, it was far below the expected level - had a strong sense of sugar cane juice, ripen peach, stone fruits characters and slightly honey aromas. The body was full but the acidity level seemed declining from the high level. Not sufficient fruit concentration to support the wine structure. Medium length. The wine probably was not in a good condition as I found it was bit "cooked". Extremely disappointed to me, a super Bollinger's fans.
Apart from the surprising Bollinger NV, I ranked the 2002 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill the highest marks. It had slightly sugar cane flavor and the fruit characters were very fresh and lively. Although the texture was not as rich as Bollinger NV, it still had cream and round mouth-feeling. The acidity was refreshing and the structure was well-defined. The only defect of this wine was too YOUNG, not like the Bollinger NV which was the most suitable to drink now.
Looking forward to a matured 2002 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill.
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Bollinger NV FS 91 1990 Bollinger Grande Annee FS 88+ 2002 Pol Roger Sir Winston Churchill FS 93+