Bollinger PN Release Tasting At PWS David Jones

The NV Brut Special Cuvée is fabulous. Hints of pears, pastry crust and hazelnut lead to an expansive core of fruit. There is plenty of the signature Bollinger oxidative style in this rich, enveloping Champagne. Once again the Special Cuvée is one of the best Champagnes in its price range. ANTONIO GALLONI

… The complexity and richness of Special Cuvée is unparalleled among the entry non-vintage blends of every Champagne house, short of ascending to the mesosphere of Krug. Its grand recipe explains why, built on incredible depth of 50%-60% reserves. Triumphant complexity is a given at Bollinger, but it's the dynamic freshness and vitality that really set it apart as one of the most affordable Champagne benchmarks. (96) TYSON STELZER

Like its rosé counterpart, the latest release of Bollinger's NV Brut Special Cuvée is showing especially well, bursting from the glass with aromas of honeyed apples, crisp stone fruit, buttery pastry, ripe lemons and fresh walnuts. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and vinous, with a deep core of beautifully ripe fruit, racy acids and a pillowy  mousse, it's a charming, characterful wine that proves that Special Cuvée is firmly back where it belongs. WILLIAM KELLEY

Pale, bright pink.  Expressive aromas of fresh red berries, tangerine and toasty lees, with a suave floral nuance.  Deeply pitched but quite energetic, offering pure strawberry and cherry preserve flavors underscored by zesty citrus and mineral notes.  Becomes richer and smokier with air and finishes with excellent clarity, thrust and persistence.  For such a powerful wine this Champagne is impressively lithe and incisive. JOSH RAYNOLDS

PN AYC18 is a showpiece for the expansive dimensions, intoxicating allure and purity of Aÿ pinot noir; a wonderfully characterful blanc de noirs that celebrates the sumptuous fruit generosity of 2018 and the purity and precision of this fabled cru. (97) TYSON STELZER

The NV PN AYC 2018 is the newest edition in Bollinger’s range of single village-based Champagnes, a series of wines created by former Chef de Caves Gilles Descôtes, who passed away earlier this year. Tense and vibrant, with notable saline intensity, the AYC (based on Aÿ) sizzles with energy. Dried pear, crushed flowers, mint, sage, chalk and light pastry notes all race across the palate. This release is 53% 2018 and 47% reserve wines, a big part of which are Bollinger’s famous reserve magnums (in this case 2009 Verzenay Pinot), plus dollops of 2017 and 2016 wines. The 2018 was done in equal parts oak and tank. Dosage is 6 grams per liter, but the impression is of a slightly drier style. The combination of a very warm base vintage blended with a high proportion of reserve wines yields a Champagne of notable complexity and texture. Drink 2023-2038. ANTONIO GALLONI, Vinous

Enticing, fragrant aromas of toast, lemon zest and an earthy-smoky nuance lead to a palate of subtle Bosc-pear, mango, papaya, even pineapple flavors. Lifted by fresh acidity on the medium-bodied palate, the wine keeps unfolding in toasted walnuts, honey and a dash of bitter marmalade. It's mouth-filling, alive with acidity and full of finesse. (96) JAMES SUCKLING

Bunner also opted to increase the Chardonnay, so the blend is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, as opposed to the more typical 70/30 blend, with more Verzenay than Aÿ in the Pinots. Dried citrus peel, sage, menthol, sage, tangerine peel and spice build with some coaxing. Light tropical overtones develop with aeration. There's real density and textural richness here. This will be a fascinating vintage to follow. Stylistically, it is the complete opposite from the much more linear 2014 that precedes it. (96) ANTONIO GALLONI

The 2015 Brut La Grande Année was disgorged last year with eight grams per liter dosage. The wine has turned out beautifully, exhibiting a more muscular, old-school Bollinger profile in contrast to the unusually racy, fine-boned 2014 that preceded it. Wafting from the glass with notes of pear, orange oil and white flowers mingled with notions of mocha, toasted hazelnuts and fino sherry, it's medium to full-bodied, layered and textural, with a dense core of fruit framed by chalky structuring extract, concluding with a long, sapid finish. (95+) WILLIAM KELLEY

Bollinger continues its quest to highlight its Pinot Noir expertise with arguably the most exciting and focused wine yet in the PN series, focusing on the grand cru village of Tauxière from 2020 (although backed up with reserves from all around the Montagne de Reims and Grande Vallée, 25% of which comes directly from magnums).

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. ANTONIO GALLONI