The 2012 La Grande Année Rosé is airy, gracious and so wonderfully inviting. Crushed flowers, mint, white pepper and red berry fruit are all gracefully woven together. Today, the 2012 is naturally quite young and still shows the tension of a Champagne that was disgorged just a few months ago. Readers who prefer Champagnes with softer edges and a bit more flavor complexity will want to cellar the 2012. I have to admit, I very much like the wine today, in its youthful state, where its energy and focus are front and center. The 2012 is a blend of 67% Pinot Noir and 33% Chardonnay taken from 21 villages built around a core of Aÿ and Verzenay Pinot Noir and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oiry Chardonnay, crus that are quite complementary. Disgorged January 2020. Dosage is 8 grams per liter.

Bollinger's 2015 Brut La Grande Année Rosé was disgorged in May last year with seven grams per liter dosage. Offering up deep aromas of orchard fruits, blood orange, mandarin rind and peach mingled with nuances of coffee, praline and fino sherry, it's medium to full-bodied, pillowy and layered, with a broad attack that segues into a vinous palate framed by high levels of structuring dry extract that makes its presence felt on the sapid, nutty and penetrating finish. Given the skin maturity and inherent structure of the year, the Bollinger team elected to include only 4.5% of still red wine in the blend, a comparatively low percentage.

This elegant, medium-bodied rosé includes select plots of pinot noir from the Cote Aux Enfants vineyard. It shows a medium orange-amber color, dark cherry-skin and candied-plum aromas followed by vivid strawberry and blood-orange flavors. Marked by finesse, light but very flavorful, complex and layered. Drink or hold.