BollingerPN TX20

For this exciting and explosive edition of PN, Bollinger once again chose fine, but unknown Tauxières as the starting point and dominant together with a smaller part of Aÿ and Avenay. 2020 is the base vintage with 48% of the cuvée. 52% reserve wines from magnum and steel tank with 2008 and 2012 as the oldest components to 25% of the whole. And finally a moderate dosage of 8 grams. Beautiful light golden color and an explosive and intense, now characteristic aroma of the reserve wines on magnum. So a kind of Bollinger without barrels in just that part. The barrel notes are clearer in the mouth where the nuts appear together with a small whisper of the forest. Otherwise, I mostly find apricot jam and white peaches in the fruity part together with geranium and a very flinty mineral finish.

Bolinger´s PN series has only gained in popularity, showcasing the house´s expertise with Pinot Noir. For the latest edition, the house has reverted to the lesser-known Pinot Noir premier cru of Tauxières in a cool pocket of the southern face of the Montagne de Reims, comprised once more of just under half of the base year plus reserves from 2019 and 2018, and reserves from 2012 and 2008 aged in magnum. At first it´s full of the exuberant pink-tinged fruit of the ultra-ripe, hot season; juicy raspberry and sweet apricots, rounded and approachable. Both the cool, chalky restraint of the village and the added shot of smoky, charry, honeyed richness of the reserve wine – not to mention the acid focus of the 2008 and 2012 – elevate it dramatically, leaving the wine with no lack of drive and refreshment factor. This is another highly imaginative, rewarding release, a little less mineral and restrained than the PN VZ 19, yet just as layered.

The NV PN-TX20 is a powerful, tightly wound wine. All the drive of Pinot comes through in this decidedly virile Champagne. As with all the wines in this new series from Bollinger, the NV PN-TX20 is built around a base wine, in this case 2020 Pinot Noir from Tauxières, with 50% reserve wines, half of them from Bollinger´s extensive library of reserve wines aged in magnum. This is an especially vinous Champagne, one that needs at least a year or two in bottle to unwind. The year was characterized by a relatively short cycle of just 87 days from flowering to a harvest that began on August 25. Dosage is 8 grams per liter. Disgorged: January, 2025.