Bollinger 'PN TX17' MV Tauxières 1er cru

TheChampagneSommelier

Champagne Club by Richard Juhlin

The wine is almost completely dominated by the extremely exciting and rare Tauxières Premier Cru, which is one of two villages classified 99% on the Grand Cru scale. Despite an impressive vineyard area of ​​237 hectares, it is extremely rare to come across champagnes dominated by this fantastic Cru. A cooler microclimate and a thinner soil layer with even more compact chalk than sunny Bouzy make the wines from here lighter and more elegant than Bouzy but stronger than Verzenay which is also part of this exciting Blanc de Noirs with predominantly base from 2017. Here is also a small splash of Avenay to give a little buttery roundness to the cuvée with its low dosage of 4 grams. The reserve wines that always come from magnum bottles under low pressure make up 48% from three vintages in 2016, 2009 and 2006. In total, half of the wine is made in oak barrels and the other half in steel tanks. The result is very beautiful and personal. The scent has features of lead pencil, juniper and freshly lacquered boat together with more classic coffee notes, rose petals, apricot and peach. The taste is vivid and multifaceted with a lively precision, lighter fruit aromas than you normally find in Bollinger's wines. Even cassis is one of the more unexpected aromas in this finely tuned complex symphony. Very impressive and exciting champagne that really makes me want to taste more and that I will look out for to my private cellar.

Tim Atkin

House based in Aÿ. Pinot Noir from Tauxières (and a little from Avenay and Verzenay) in 2017. 2017 is not a vintage many producers choose to showcase, so Bollinger is making a bit of a point here; even when the gods are against you, there are always a few hands to win if you're sharp. This is cool and dynamic with some wild russet apple, briny and leathery savour over plum and set honey. It's insistent rather than powerful, a little edgy with some herbal and almost meaty tones adding interest.

Decanter Magazine

Jeb Dunnuck

As with the PN VZ16, the NV Champagne Blanc de Noirs PN TX17 Brut was fermented half in barrels and half in stainless steel. It is also 100% Pinot Noir, mostly from the village of Tauxières, predominantly from 2017, with reserve wines contributing to the blend. Floral on the nose, with yellow orchard fruit and baked bread, it is ripe but more linear in its approach and follow through. It’s a very pretty wine to drink over the next 10 years. Disgorged February 2022.

Tom Cannavan

(2022) Bollinger is renowned as a house that celebrates Pinot Noir - witness their über-expensive Vieilles Vignes Françaises, just like this wine, a Blanc de Noirs. PN TX17 is part of the PN project, celebrating vineyards in areas Bollinger consider as prime Pinot Noir terroirs. From a base of 2017 (though with 48% reserve wines dating back to 2006 in the blend), this comes from the unheralded 1er Cru of Tauxières (with just a smidgeon of fruit from Verzenay and Avenay). Tauxières is known for its limestone and clay soils, and for this wine around 50% was barrel-fermented. The dosage is a lowly 4g/l. I find the nose here particularly attractive. There's rich biscuit and brioche, but a cedary, almost meaty umami character, ripe stone fruits layered beneath. In the mouth it tensions dramatically: zesty lemon and lime is the spine here, but building around it are toast and mouthfilling peach and ogen melon, but that cedary, wood tannin grip, along with minerals and salts adds significant structure. It's an extremely intense wine, lingering on fruit, acid and a sense of graphite precision.

Falstaff

Very pale golden yellow with silver reflections and a fine persistent mousse. Underpinned with a touch of lime zest, ripe nuances of gooseberry and mirabelle plum, a hint of cookie, floral touch, delicate hints of fresh orange zest. Juicy, elegant, yellow apple, finesse-rich structure, delicate red berry and cassis flavours, salty minerality on the finish. Delicate walnut on the finish, highly elegant and very well lasting, subtle honey blossom on the finish, already drinking well. (PM 28/9/22).

Robert Parker Wine Advocate

From the commune of Tauxières and the 2017 vintage, Bollinger's new NV Brut Blanc de Noirs PN TX17 exhibits aromas of crisp pear, orange zest and wet stones mingled with subtle hints of warm bread and dried fruits. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and fleshy, with tangy acids and impressive ripeness for the vintage, it concludes with an elegantly mordant finish. This doesn't strike me as a year built to make old bones, but it should nonetheless enjoy over a decade's evolution.

Vinous

The NV PN TX 17, 100% Pinot Noir from Tauxières, is the next wine in Bollinger’s new series of single-village Champagnes. Bright and punchy, the 2017 is redolent of pear, dried flowers, mint, chalk and sage. Aromatically, the 2017 could easily be mistaken for a Blanc de Blancs such is its purity, but the richness and resonance of Pinot are unmistakable on the palate. This is an especially, vinous, layered Champagne that offers striking interplay between its intense fruit and the mineral, saline and savory-laced frame that holds it all together. The only thing this could use is a bit more body, as it is a touch austere. Disgorged: February, 2022.