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Bollinger Champagne PN VZ16 NV

$119.99
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Bollinger's house style is all about Pinot Noir, and this newest series from Bollinger explores their love of the grape. "VZ16" requires a bit of decoding: the VZ stands for Verzenay, one of the great Pinot villages that Bollinger relies on, and the sole source of grapes for this wine. The 16 refers to base year 2016, though there are also reserve wines going back to 2006. A must try.

Walking the storied caves of Champagne Bollinger in the renowned village of Aÿ, you can’t help but wonder if everyone who works here is a little crazy. This is the wine industry, and Champagne's maisons are famous for capitalistic pursuits. Yet at Bollinger, decisions seem to be focused between the bounds of science and artistic expression. Excellence is the priority, no matter the cost.

This pursuit of excellence began with Madame Bollinger. Of course, there were a slew of men who’d established and expanded the estate over the century before her, but it was this 42-year-old widow who changed its destiny.

Maybe being widowed at the height of WWII inspired her to take nothing for granted. Each step in the production was held up to rigorous examination. Pressing, fermentation and aging vessels, blending components, closures for secondary fermentation, time sur latte, riddling and of course dosage levels. If it touched the juice or the wine, it was scrutinized.

For instance, she discovered that when aged up to 5 years — as Bollinger's Special Cuvée is, much longer than any other Maison’s non-vintage wine — the wine was best kept under a crown cap (like a beer top) before disgorgement. Any longer than that, and a natural cork was optimal. While expensive and laborious, it better protects the wine from oxygen, allowing it to age more gracefully for longer. All of the vintage wines only use cork.

Famously, the house's reserve wine is aged in a collection of 800,000 magnums, each under cork with a touch of sugar and yeast for freshness. The expense of materials and labor for this step is mind boggling. But it's a major component in the Special Cuvée blend because it continuously presents the best results.

Finally, this one of two houses to ferment entirely in oak (the other is Krug). Bollinger recently hosted a blind tasting of special bottles of Champagnes fermented in either stainless steel, 5-, 25-, or 50-year-old barrels. The differences were stark — the older the barrel, the better, for unbeatable mouthfeel and structure. To maintain their enormous stock of barrels (some are up to 100 years old), they employ an in-house cooper, the last property in the region to do so. Special Cuvée, again, benefits from this devotion to quality.

Bollinger is one of three family-owned Champagne houses, and has been making consistent and exceptional wines for generations. We spend a lot of time extolling the virtues of Champagne’s fast-changing grower movement that we sometimes forget to appreciate what has been in front of us all along. Today, we celebrate Bollinger's commitment to their art form, no matter how crazy their methods may seem.

Professional Reviews

Antonio Galloni

AG 93
"Soft, open-knit and wonderfully inviting PN VZ 16 is a worthy follow up to the sublime 2015 that launched this new Blanc de Noirs in the Bollinger range last year. Sweet red cherry, Mirabelle, spice, mint and dried flowers all grace this wonderfully translucent, expressive Blanc de Noirs. North-facing sites in Verzenay that confer tension and energy make up about half the blend, with wines from Aÿ, Bouzy and Louvois playing supporting roles. Vinification is done in equal parts steel and oak. This release is based on 2016 (50% of the blend), with reserve wines that go back to 2006, including 23% from reserve magnums. Readers who enjoy Blanc de Noirs will adore the PN VZ 16. I find the interplay of vibrancy and the creamier notes that are so typical of the house style to be incredibly appealing. Dosage is 6 grams per liter." -Vinous

Robert Parker

RP 94
"Disgorged in January 2021, Bollinger's newly released NV Brut Blanc de Noirs PN VZ16 offers up notions of pear, apple blossom, jasmine, orange zest and fresh pastry. Medium to full-bodied, precise and elegantly vinous, it's layered and charming, with racy acids and a pretty pinpoint mousse, and it concludes with a sapid finish. It's based on the 2016 vintage, complemented by older reserve wines matured in magnum, and derives, once again, largely from the village of Verzenay." -Robert Parker

Decanter

D 95
"Produced exclusively from vineyards owned by Bollinger, this takes advantage of the dynamic equilibrium between the structured, robust Pinot Noir grape and a terroir that is late-ripening. Picking began on 25 September and delivered a wine with plenty of concentration and impressive freshness and balance, with expressive green apple fruit accented with notes of toast and smoke and a creamy, supple, and open texture. Dosed at 6 g/l. Disgorged in November 2020."

Wine Spectator

WS 94
"Seamlessly knit and graceful, offering a lovely range of ripe cherry and nectarine fruit, with notes of slivered almond, orange blossom and fleur de sel slowly expanding on the palate via the finely detailed mousse and carried through the long, lacy finish by fine chinalike acidity. Pinot Noir. Disgorged January 2021. Drink now through 2026. 350 cases imported."

Wine Enthusiast

WE 95
"Bollinger is famed for its Pinot Noir vineyards and this single-vineyard Champagne from the Grand Cru village of Verzenay is proof. It is intense, rich with mature fruits and the typical house style of toast mingled with almond. Drink this wine now." -Roger Voss

Details

  • Grape Variety

    Pinot Noir

  • Vintage

    NV

  • Size

    750ml

  • Farming Practice

    Organic

  • Style

    Fruity , Minerally , Rich

  • Sweetness

    Dry

  • Body

    Light Bodied

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