Time has graced this wine, proving the value of Bollinger’s policy of long aging on the lees followed by prompt release after disgorgement. This RD (Recently Disgorged) 2004 is a joyous wine, staunch, cold and powerful at first, transforming to fresh fruit shadowed by darker tones of barrel fermentation. As it opens in the glass, revealing racy energy, a range of floral pear and apple flavors emerge, resonant with a sense of limestone capturing the sun and reflecting it back in pale power. Enjoy this over the course of an evening as its presence shifts, providing varied perspectives on a great Champagne.

The wine's name stands for recently disgorged and this vintage Champagne was taken off its in 2018. That gave many years for it to develop its depth of flavor, richness and beautifully memorable toasty flavors. Drink through 2028. - ROGER VOSS

A superb moment for this late-disgorged vintage Champagne. All the complexity and fruit are here, in the right proportions, on the nose and palate. Grilled peaches, grapefruit, lemons, hazelnuts, espresso and more. Super long, majestic and so rewardingly complex. Drink now.

Fermented in oak barrels and aged under natural corks for almost 13 years, Bollinger's 2004 R. D. Extra Brut blends 66% Pinot Noir with 34% Chardonnay from 16 crus, 88% of which are classified as Grand Cru. The wine opens with a very clear, deep, rich and aromatic but also pure and mineral-fresh nose of crushed rocks, cherries, brioche, pain aux raisin, white nougat, chalk and ripe, yellow-fleshed fruits. Highly elegant and complex on the weightless yet persistent and salty palate, this is an intense, densely woven, firmly structured yet elegant, beautifully refined and refreshing "recent disgorgement" (February 2018) that reveals just a kiss of oxidative flavors that adds even more complexity. A great Champagne on its way to improve over many years in the bottle. Tasted June 2018. - Stephan Reinhardt

The lovely nose of acacia blossom, toast and graphite leads to flavors of poached quince, fleur de sel, white cherry, lemon pith and almond skin in this dry and harmonious Champagne. Almost airy and ethereal in texture, yet the finely woven flavor range goes on and on, echoing on the finish. Disgorged June 2017. Drink now through 2034. 301 cases imported. –AN

The 2004 Champagne R.D. Extra Brut is amplified and offers a distillation of the bold hallmark traits of the house. It is composed of 66% Pinot Noir and the rest Chardonnay. Pouring a ripe golden hue, it is rich and expressive with floral vanilla bean, plum, toasted brioche, white flowers, and espresso. The palate is luxurious and long, with powerful concentration and smoke that lingers long on the finish. As it opens, the nose evolves into more savory aromas. including broth and saline earth. Full and assertive, this is showing well now. Drink over the next 15 or so years. Disgorged on February 21, 2018. - Audrey Frick

The 2004 RD, or ‘recently disgorged’, version of La Grande Année may not be so recently disgorged today; it is often said that it may not age as well as the standard version, and the bottle tasted here was certainly prodigiously savoury in tone. Behind deep roasted stone fruit and nut oil comes a powerful, encompassing sense of forest floor and dried mushroom, striking yet possibly dominating. It’s a layered, expansive Champagne drawn in deep character lines; no need, it seems, to keep for longer.