Champagne Bollinger, PN VZ19, Brut
Critics reviews
The potential alcohol content was record high from the start, especially in Aÿ, with 11.1% straight away. Denis, just like me, sees great similarities between 2015 and 2019, but where the sharpness and freshness is better in 2019. It is not the acidity, but rather the mineral salt that gives the freshness together with the sense of umami the concentrated grapes give. Here, there is a swirl of exotic fruit and honey and a dry smokiness that I’ve learned to associate with the cluster of aromas that transforms over time into the note of railway on a hot summer’s day. It might sound fuzzy, but it makes perfect sense.
The combination of heated rail, dry gravel, dandelions and nettles that thrive in the embankment gives a concentrated, warm dryness strongly reminiscent of the character the grapes acquire when the temperature crosses the vine’s pain point on a few hot summer days. 41 degrees in the shade was a heat record in Champagne, especially a lot of shade, which the vineyards in Champagne cannot boast of, so the effect is reminiscent of that which arose in 1947, 1959, 1976, and 2003. Hence, this aroma was less marked in 2019. Let’s see if I’m right in 10 years when I expect “The Famous Note of Railroad Track” to appear in this beauty.
Richard Juhlin, The Champagne Club (June 2024)
About this WINE
Bollinger
The Champagne House of Bollinger was established in 1829 by Jacques Bollinger and Paul Renaudin. Over the years the vineyard holdings have been steadily increased with the largest expansion taking place under the stewardship of the legendary Mme Lily Bollinger. She ran the company between 1941 and 1977 and today it is managed by her great-nephew, Ghislain de Montgolfier.
Bollinger has a reputation for producing muscular champagnes with body, depth and power, and is today considered one of the "Great" Champagne houses.
70% of the grapes come from the firm's own vineyards. 80% of the harvest is barrel-fermented with the wines being kept on their yeast lees for an extended period of time (in the case of the RD, around 10 years).
Bollinger produces classic, complex, Pinot-Noir dominated champagnes with the ability to age gracefully for many years.
Blanc de Noirs
Blanc de Noirs describes a wine produced entirely from black grapes. In Champagne, Blanc de Noirs cuvée can be made from the two black grapes permitted within the appellation, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. Bollinger's prestige cuvée Vieilles Vignes Françaises, from ungrafted, old Pinot Noir vines, has set the yardstick in a style that is now produced by a number of other Champagne houses.
A typical Blanc de Noirs cuvée has a deep golden colour, and can be more intensely flavoured than the classic non-vintage, multi-grape blend.Recommended Producers: Cedric Bouchard, Bollinger
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is probably the most frustrating, and at times infuriating, wine grape in the world. However when it is successful, it can produce some of the most sublime wines known to man. This thin-skinned grape which grows in small, tight bunches performs well on well-drained, deepish limestone based subsoils as are found on Burgundy's Côte d'Or.
Pinot Noir is more susceptible than other varieties to over cropping - concentration and varietal character disappear rapidly if yields are excessive and yields as little as 25hl/ha are the norm for some climats of the Côte d`Or.
Because of the thinness of the skins, Pinot Noir wines are lighter in colour, body and tannins. However the best wines have grip, complexity and an intensity of fruit seldom found in wine from other grapes. Young Pinot Noir can smell almost sweet, redolent with freshly crushed raspberries, cherries and redcurrants. When mature, the best wines develop a sensuous, silky mouth feel with the fruit flavours deepening and gamey "sous-bois" nuances emerging.
The best examples are still found in Burgundy, although Pinot Noir`s key role in Champagne should not be forgotten. It is grown throughout the world with notable success in the Carneros and Russian River Valley districts of California, and the Martinborough and Central Otago regions of New Zealand.
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Description
The potential alcohol content was record high from the start, especially in Aÿ, with 11.1% straight away. Denis, just like me, sees great similarities between 2015 and 2019, but where the sharpness and freshness is better in 2019. It is not the acidity, but rather the mineral salt that gives the freshness together with the sense of umami the concentrated grapes give. Here, there is a swirl of exotic fruit and honey and a dry smokiness that I’ve learned to associate with the cluster of aromas that transforms over time into the note of railway on a hot summer’s day. It might sound fuzzy, but it makes perfect sense.
The combination of heated rail, dry gravel, dandelions and nettles that thrive in the embankment gives a concentrated, warm dryness strongly reminiscent of the character the grapes acquire when the temperature crosses the vine’s pain point on a few hot summer days. 41 degrees in the shade was a heat record in Champagne, especially a lot of shade, which the vineyards in Champagne cannot boast of, so the effect is reminiscent of that which arose in 1947, 1959, 1976, and 2003. Hence, this aroma was less marked in 2019. Let’s see if I’m right in 10 years when I expect “The Famous Note of Railroad Track” to appear in this beauty.
Richard Juhlin, The Champagne Club (June 2024)
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