Bollinger PN VZ15
Perfect Cork
With the official release today (21st July) I wanted to do a more in depth at this champagne since it has had lots of 94/100 scores from critics. So I opened my bottle of Blanc de Noirs, all PN and did some tasting, though wanted to compare and contrast in two glasses. My go to glass after heaps of testing is the Lehmann Grand Champagne 41cl which time after time seems to be the most flattering, not all the time, but much of the time. I opened the bottle, and for those of you that hold this in high importance, it had a near perfect cork, slight hint of pink colour.
Tasting Notes:
JR x RB (Left) – Lehmann Grand Champagne (Right)
JR x RB glass – Jancis Robinson x Richard Brendon Wine Glass
The first impression is really bright red fruits leap out the glass like ripe red apple and juicy conference pear, with redcurrant, raspberry, rhubarb and a hint of the spiced oak. The oak comes a little more forward on the palate, some of that smokiness and the dosage seems lower. After a few minutes the bitter orange is starting to sing and the lift at the end of the palate is refreshingly saline. The older reserve wines seems more obvious in this glass. Way more edgy in the Jancis glass and I love that personality in this champagne.
Immediately different fruit personality with the more yellow fruits forward like plum and pineapple, more green apple. On the palate this seems rounder than in the other glass and dosage seems higher. On the palate I am seeing more stone fruit like nectarine and really ripe peach and the oak seems very background.
Amazing contrast! Today the Jancis glass is working better for me and I’d grant an 18/20 and probably only 17/20 for the Lehmann. Amazing how much the glass influences our perception of the champagne. #DontForgetToExperiment
Technical Information:
PN VZ15 is the first wine in a new series that will be released every year, always with a focus on one of Bollinger’s Pinot Noir crus, or villages. PN VZ15 is the first cuvee added to Bollinger’s permanent range since Rose NV in 2008. Each year the cuvee will be an expression of a different cru from the base year that highlight’s its distinctive terroir and taste. PN VZ15 highlights Verzenay (VZ) which makes up 50% of the blend with the balance from Aÿ, Bouzy and Tauxières. The blend features 80% from 2015 and 20% of Bollinger’s reserve wines from 2009 and 2010 from Verzenay.
Vineyards: Grand Cru: Verzenay: 50% Aÿ, Bouzy | Premier Cru: Tauxières
Grape Varieties: 100% Pinot Noir
Fermentation: More than 50% vinified in oak barrels
Lees Ageing: 3.5 years
Dosage: 7 g/l
Disgorged: November 2019
Drink: Now to 2030
Bollinger PN VZ15 is available to buy now here.
