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A stunning edition of one of the great vintage Champagnes that sees immense power and freshness carry the inherent complexity that is the cornerstone of the Bollinger style. Lemon rind, chalk, lime juice and light-grilled nuts here, this has terrific freshness and fragrant lift, gently sweet biscuity complexity here too. The palate’s crisp, powerful, assertive and long, delivering a wealth of apple, melon and citrus fruit flavour amid lemon biscuit, almond nougat and a jousting savoury vs. cleansing finish. It’s superb now, but will grow and develop handsomely for some years if well cellared. Drink from 2016.James Suckling | 97 JSThe 2002 Brut La Grande Annee is marvelous. The 2002 is an understated Grande Annee that caresses the palate with layers of effortless, weightless fruit. The mousse is exceptionally fine, which adds to the impression of total elegance. This is a relatively bright, floral Grande Annee with plenty of aromatic lift, inner perfume and no sense of heaviness at all. A rich, creamy finish adds the final note of complexity and pedigree. The 2002 is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, 71% from Grand Cru villages and 29% from Premier Crus. Disgorged February 2011. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2022.Robert Parker | 94 RP(60% pint noir and 40% chardonnay; 71% of the fruit is from grand cru sites and rest from premier crus; disgorged February, 2011): Light gold. Ripe pear and honey on the explosively perfumed nose, with sexy floral and marzipan nuances expanding with air. Fat, full and palate-coating, boasting impressive power and thrust. Shows an intriguing blend of richness and energy and finishes long, with smoky and spicy nuances.Vinous Media | 94 VMRipe, appealing flavors of peach, Gala apple, toast and blood orange mix with a streak of minerality and notes of spice, all set on the fine-grained texture. Fresh and focused, with racy acidity and a long, mouthwatering, nut-tinged finish. Drink now through 2025. 1,000 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 94 WSIn contrast to the heightened expressiveness of the 2004 Grande Année Rosé this is actually quite restrained with discreet notes of green apple, pear and citrus peel. The delicious, intense and voluminous flavors enjoy a prominent effervescence that is almost foamy yet the bead is strikingly fine, all wrapped in a distinctly yeasty, dry and admirably complex finish that goes on and on. This too could be enjoyed now or held for a number of years to come depending on how much yeast character you like.Burghound | 93 BH(Bollinger Grande Année Brut Millésime (Aÿ) The 2002 Bollinger Grande Année is a lovely wine that is drinking very well today and shows plenty of structural integrity to keep on cruising at this fine level for another fifteen years or more. The bouquet wafts from the glass in a mature blend of apple, peach, lovely soil tones, a touch of honeycomb, warm biscuits and a fair bit of smokiness in the upper register. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, complex and beautifully balanced, with a fine core, elegant mousse, crisp acids and lovely length and grip on the wide open and classy finish. (Drink between 2015-2030)John Gilman | 93 JG

An assemblage of 57% Chardonnay, 29% Pinot Noir and 14% Pinot Meunier, the 2002 Millésime Prestige l’Étincelante (literally: the sparkling one) opens with an exciting bouquet that displays lovely matured yet precise fruit aromas along with brioche, stony and flinty notes. On the palate, the 2002 is intense, firm and vibrantly fresh, showing a juicy, chalky texture and stimulating salinity in the long yet still young finish. This is one of the best vintage Champagnes I have tasted here so far. Tasted in April 2018.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPThe 2002 Brut Nature L’Étincelante is one of the most restrained 2002 Champagnes readers will come across. And it is absolutely exquisite. Delicate scents of apricot, chamomile, pear, baked apple tart, brioche and yellow flowers all lift from the glass. Medium in body and super-refined, the 2002 has so much to recommend it. This is a tremendous showing from Benoit Tarlant.Vinous Media | 95 VMThe 2002 Champagne l’Etincelante Brut Nature is 57% Pinot Noir, 29%, Chardonnay, and the rest Meunier, and was aged for 15 years on the lees prior to disgorgement in September 2018. It comes from two terroirs of Campanian chalk and Lutetian limestone. A medium yellow hue, its nose is floral with pure red fruits of marasca cherry, rose petal, croissant dough, and chalk. The mousse is refined and adds richness where it is otherwise is driving with mineral persistence. It is quite remarkable in that the texture is so well rounded when it could feel mean. It is still youthful at this stage and will continue to improve over the coming 20 or so years.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JDComplex nose of hazelnuts, salted caramel, sourdough brioche, salted lemons and dried fruit. Medium-bodied with tangy acidity with very fine bubbles. Delicious, salty character. Long and persistently sharp. 57% chardonnay, 29% pinot noir and 14% pinot meunier. Dosage 0g/L dosage. Disgorged in September 2020. Drink now.James Suckling | 94 JS

Laurence Ployez’s 2002 Tête de Cuvée, the “Liesse d’Harbonville” is a magnificent bottle of Champagne. The wine is composed from a cépages of seventy percent chardonnay and fifteen percent each of pinot noir and pinot meunier, with the vins clairs barrel-fermented in two and three year-old barrels and given an elevage of six months in cask prior to bottling up for secondary fermentation. The vins clairs do not go through malolactic fermentation. It was disgorged in February of 2021, after aging sur latte for more than seventeen and a half years on its fine lees. The wine delivers a totally refined bouquet of apple, pear, sourdough bread, macadamia nut, a complex base of chalky soil tones, dried flowers, a very discreet touch of buttery oak and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with great depth at the core, supremely elegant mousse, bright acids and impeccable balance on the long, vibrant and very refined finish. Though this is already more than twenty years of age, it is still a handful of years away from its plateau of peak maturity and has decades and decades of life still ahead of it. (Drink between 2023 - 2075)John Gilman | 96 JG

This is a deep and profound 2002 with such fine bubbles that have the texture of fine silk. Full body. Extremely dense and compact. Just rolls over your palate. Superb quality and satisfaction, after all this time. Drink now.James Suckling | 97 JSPol Roger’s 2002 Brut Vintage is showing beautifully, bursting from the glass with an expressive bouquet of confit lemon and pear mingled with nuances of brioche, wheat toast, honeycomb and dried white flowers. Full-bodied, broad and textural, this is a rich, vinous Champagne that’s ample and complex, underpinned by lively acids and concluding with a long, saline finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPExuberant, yet graceful overall, with rich notes of ripe pineapple, guava, honey and baked peach mixing with a minerally undertow and accents of grated ginger, biscuit and fresh quince. Mouthwatering finish. Drink now through 2027. 200 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WSThis is beginning to display the initial hints of maturity with a hint of reduction to the otherwise pretty notes of baked bread, lemon rind and green apple. There is excellent complexity to the reserved and moderately austere finish that is not quite bone dry but it’s close to it. This is a very classy but aloof effort that will most please those who enjoy a certain restraint and understatement to their bubbles. As the description would suggest this could be enjoyed now or held for a few more years first.Burghound | 92 BHWhereas I had loved the 2002 Blanc de Blancs from Pol Roger the last time I tasted it, this most recent bottle of the 2002 Brut Millésime was not cruising at quite the same level. The wine has depth and complexity on the nose worthy of expectations, but the palate impression is a bit leesy and lacking in precision at the present time. I hope that this is just a moment of adolescent grumpiness. The bouquet is really first rate, offering up scents of apple, bread dough, fine minerality, lemon peel, a touch of quinine and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is a tad less interesting, albeit, full-bodied, crisp and nicely mineral. The mousse is customarily refined, there is good complexity, but for some reason the wine is quite defined by leesiness on the backend and really lacks a bit of focus. The raw materials here still merit a good score, but I do hope that the wine is just in a closed phase and will lose some of the yeasty qualities and snap precisely into focus with a bit more bottle age. If it does so, add three or four points. (Drink between 2016 - 2040)John Gilman | 90 JG