Champagne Bollinger PN VZ19.
Champagne Bollinger’s PN Series: Showcasing Pinot Noir’s Terroir-Driven Elegance.
Champagne Bollinger’s PN series provides a focused exploration of Pinot Noir’s diverse expressions across Champagne’s varied terroirs. Launched in 2020, the series has become a cornerstone of Bollinger’s portfolio, showcasing the grape’s versatility by featuring a different cru and base vintage with each release. The PN VZ19 is another standout Champagne, exemplifying how Bollinger continues to elevate Pinot Noir, offering a distinctive interpretation that beautifully captures the essence of its terroir.
PN VZ19: The Elegance of Verzenay
The latest addition to the PN series, PN VZ19, highlights the Grand Cru village of Verzenay, located in the northern Montagne de Reims. Known for its cooler climate and chalky soils, Verzenay produces Pinot Noir with remarkable tension and salinity. The base year for this edition is 2019, a vintage shaped by extreme weather conditions, including a record-breaking heatwave and spring frosts. Despite these challenges, the harvest yielded ripe grapes that resulted in a champagne with exceptional freshness.
In PN VZ19, Verzenay is complemented by Pinot Noir from Aÿ, Avenay, Louvois, Mutigny, and Tauxières. The inclusion of reserve wines, some aged in oak barrels since 2009, adds depth and complexity. On the nose, PN VZ19 reveals orchard fruits, exotic fruits, and citrus, while the palate offers a sharp, tense expression of white peach, vine peach, and citrus. The salinity from the chalky soils of Verzenay enhances the wine’s refreshing finish, making it both elegant and energetic.
Our Review
Bollinger’s PN VZ19 is a striking expression of Pinot Noir, with Verzenay playing a central role in this release. The 2019 vintage forms the backbone of this Champagne, representing 52% of the blend, while 48% is made up of reserve wines, including a notable 25% from the 2009 vintage.
The wine pours a luminous golden straw color, reflecting its maturity and the careful pressing of red-skinned grapes. On the nose, PN VZ19 opens with vibrant aromas of ripe yellow peach, wild strawberry, and white pear, which are intertwined with layers of citrus zest, creamy hazelnuts, and a hint of smoky minerality. As the wine opens up, subtler notes of jasmine and freshly baked brioche emerge, adding complexity to the bouquet.
The palate is generous yet precise, delivering a balanced combination of ripe stone fruits like Mirabelle plum and red cherries, along with a fine, creamy mousse that enhances the wine’s texture. There’s a lovely tension between the ripe fruit and the saline, chalky minerality from Verzenay, which adds a sense of freshness and vivacity to the mid-palate. The finish is long and mouthwatering, with citrus zest and a touch of spice lingering alongside the wine’s characteristic chalky backbone.
Conclusion:
The PN VZ19 is a stunning example of Bollinger’s mastery of Pinot Noir and their commitment to terroir-driven Champagnes. The wine showcases the richness and fruit depth of the 2019 vintage, balanced by the vibrant freshness and minerality of Verzenay. With its beautifully integrated structure, refined mousse, and complex layers of fruit and savory notes, this Blanc de Noirs offers a dynamic and evolving experience. While it’s already showing great finesse, it will continue to develop gracefully over the next decade, making it a worthy addition to any collection.
We reward this edition of Champagne Bollinger’s PN Series with a 95-point DWA score.
Bollinger’s Pinot Noir Vision
The PN series exemplifies Bollinger’s deep-rooted dedication to Pinot Noir, a grape that has been at the heart of the house since its inception.
Through meticulous selection, blending, and extended lees aging, Bollinger pushes the limits of what Pinot Noir can achieve in Champagne. The PN series, with its terroir-driven focus, invites wine enthusiasts to discover the unique expressions of this iconic grape.
Showcasing Bollinger’s mastery and the grape’s versatility, the PN collection highlights the elegance of terroir through wines like the PN AYC18 and PN VZ19, offering a dynamic and evolving experience that continues to set Bollinger apart in the world of Champagne.
This review is written by our own Niels Aarts. Importer Verbunt Verlinden is the proud importer of this iconic Champagne, along with the rest of the Bollinger portfolio, in the Netherlands. The PN VZ19 is available through selected retail and hospitality partners. A review of the PN AYC18 can be found here.
Price: €115,00
Taste date: October 2024
Score: 95/100 DWA Score
Website: Champagne Bollinger