Two recent bottles of fizz; although the Bossard wine was notable for its drinkability, I was much more taken with the Bollinger - perhaps because the 1997 has always come across as lean and steely, but there was such a warmer welcome on this encounter.
Domaine de l'Ecu Cuvée Ludwig Hahn NV: An assemblage of Folle Blanche, otherwise known as Gros-Plant, Chardonnay, Melon de Bourgogne and Cabernet Sauvignon from Guy Bossard. The same pale-straw gold colour here, although with a much calmer bead than with my previous bottle. The nose has a more honeyed character, rather reminiscent of aged Muscadet. A maturing character on the palate, very dry but with flavours of sweetly baked apples and chalky minerality, backed up by a very dry structure and vibrant, almost sour acidity. Lemony, nettly, gravelly, with a sweet-sour finish. Certainly still some interest here, holding up nicely, although not necessarily any better. 16.5/20
Bollinger Grande Année 1997: It is a couple of years since I last opened a bottle of this, and there has been plenty of good development in that time. Still a gloriously pale straw-gold hue, and a very controlled bead in the glass. Lovely nose, now having shed the steely character this wine showed in its youth and taking on more of the character of Bollinger, with a gently nutty hint of brioche. But there is plenty of definition and direction here too, as the palate shows, these evolving flavours sitting alongside notes of baked lemon and bright, citrussy structure. Good clean and crisp linearity behind the slowly softening substance. A real step up here. When I visited Bollinger last year I was slightly surprised to hear Matthieu Kauffmann praise the 1997 as one of his favourites. But on this showing I can at least understand why. Lovely. 17+/20