NV Bollinger PN TX 17
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Tasting notes
Bollinger might be a Grande Marque but their single-village (or almost) releases are their answer to grower Champagne. The latest – PN TX17 – shines a light on the cool and chalky Premier Cru Tauxières. Based on the 2017 vintage, the wine includes 48% reserve wines – from 2016, 2009 and 2006, bringing additional richness and complexity. On the nose, it is linear and precise – with pure, delineated aromas of lemon rind, tangerine, smoke and riper peach fruit. On the palate, however, the Pinot shows its breadth with a structured framework. This isn’t a wine about fruit but texture with a supple mousse, mouth-filling and fine-textured. Rich yet bright in character, mouth-watering acidity drives a long, pithy finish with the scent of toasted almonds. It verges on the austere with its 4g/l dosage, but it works beautifully to create a pleasantly abrupt edge to the palate. Impressive.
Critic scores
Richard Juhlin
More reviews and scores
The wine is almost completely dominated by the extremely exciting and rare Tauxières Premier Cru, which is one of two villages classified 99% on the Grand Cru scale. Despite an impressive vineyard area of 237 hectares, it is extremely rare to come across champagnes dominated by this fantastic Cru. A cooler microclimate and a thinner soil layer with even more compact chalk than sunny Bouzy make the wines from here lighter and more elegant than Bouzy but stronger than Verzenay which is also part of this exciting Blanc de Noirs with predominantly base from 2017. Here is also a small splash of Avenay to give a little buttery roundness to the cuvée with its low dosage of 4 grams. The reserve wines that always come from magnum bottles under low pressure make up 48% from three vintages in 2016, 2009 and 2006. In total, half of the wine is made in oak barrels and the other half in steel tanks. The result is very beautiful and personal. The scent has features of lead pencil, juniper and freshly lacquered boat together with more classic coffee notes, rose petals, apricot and peach. The taste is vivid and multifaceted with a lively precision, lighter fruit aromas than you normally find in Bollinger's wines. Even cassis is one of the more unexpected aromas in this finely tuned complex symphony. Very impressive and exciting champagne that really makes me want to taste more and that I will look out for to my private cellar.
About the producer
Bollinger is one of the most renowned and coveted Champagne Houses in the world, famous for its Pinot-Noir-dominant wines, in particular La Grande Année and the rare Vieilles Vignes Françaises (from pre-phylloxera vines).