Do you know how R.D. was initially created? Madame Lily Bollinger used to go down to the cellar from time to time and have an old vintage still on the lees disgorged by hand, which she then tasted on the spot. From this habit, she had the idea of replicating this for Bollinger enthusiasts as well, albeit in limited quantities. And so R.D. was born.
The name R.D. stands for ‘récemment dégorgé’, or recently disgorged.
It is made from grapes selected from only 14 villages in the Marne, with 91% of them being classified Grand Cru and the rest Premier Cru. After blending, the champagne is matured with cork stoppers (bouchon liège) for a good 12 years and finally was dosed at 3 g/l, as is usual for the label.
“All R.D.s have been Grande Année, but not all Grande Années will become an R.D.”