The term RD refers to the practice of recent disgorgement; this wine is essentially La Grande Année, but with the wine left on the lees for an extended period of time, in the case of this bottle more than 10 years as it was disgorged in early 2009. The dosage is lower than for Grande Année, so the finished product is drier. This wine has one of the finest beads I have ever seen, and it has a very fine nose, full and ripe, aromatic and yet full of youthful, fresh, zesty character. It has a very pure and gentle style, fresh and elegant, certainly vivacious and polished. And yet behind this sheen of youthfulness there is a very bold and rather tertiary character. Overall, brilliantly fresh yet also subtly mature. Lovely wine.
