Bollinger Brut Rosé Champagne 2006

94 points James Button (Decanter): "The excellent 2006 vintage encouraged Bollinger to create a vintage rosé to reflect the quality of the grapes, especially the Pinot Noir. The fruit comes from 84% grand cru vineyards and 16% premiers cru vineyards. The wine was barrel fermented before spending over 10 years maturing in the bottle. It has a delicious Pinot character, with mulchy red fruits, accompanied by a soft Chardonnay note of delicate bruised apple and some woody breadth. It has a delicious streak of raspberry acidity, and comes across as a finessed and structured champagne that is only at the start of its life. Drinking Window: 2017-2032. (10/26/17)"

93 points Essi Avellan, MW: "This duty-free exclusivity is as ample as the warm vintage suggests. Open and generous already with plenty of oriental spices over apricot and red berry fruit. Under-control oxidative character. Mouth-filling and caressingly soft palate with enough freshness and energy to carry it. A medium-term champagne that is drinking already very well. (2/2017) The wine is approaching its peak in 2022 showing an impressive richness and generosity. The aromas have remained rather singular and sweetly fruity, but there is a lot of warm year charm here. NO hurry to open this one. (Aug 2022)"

92 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The 2006 vintage in Champagne is quite a forward year and the wines are generally drinking at or close to their apogees today, and this is certainly true of the 2006 Bollinger Rosé. The wine offers up a wide open and complex nose of desiccated cherries, tangerine, a complex base of soil, a touch of clove, rye bread and a gentle topnote of smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and ready, with a good core, fine focus and balance, elegant mousse and a long, classy finish. I like this wine very much for current drinking, but I kept wondering if it were just a bit too easy-going for an eleven year-old vintage-dated bottling of Rosé from a top flight Grande Marque such as Bollinger. Should I have been hoping for just a bit more structural integrity at this point in the wine’s evolution? This is mostly of academic interest, as the wine is drinking very well right now and delivers all one could ask for, but part of me would love to have the option of tucking this away for another decade or so in the cellar and see where it might lead, but the structural chassis here is not built for such exploration. That said, it is very, very tasty at the present time! 2018-2026. (Nov/Dec 2017)"