Welcome to the new kid in the Bollinger family which is highly rare for a house of this calibre to release a new wine that will be a permanent fixture going forward.
The 'PN Project' was a contest set by Chef de Caves Gilles Descôtes in the Bollinger winemaking team to come up with the best expression of pinot noir from a single village. All four winemakers Gilles Descôtes, Denis Bunner, Patrick Laforest and Guillaume Gallois set of in 2015 to work their magic.
After many years and blind tastings (not tastings were they were 'blind') the winning expression was by Gilles Descôtes with the Grand Cru village of 'Verzenay' making its presence known. The contenders were from Ambonnay, Bouzy and Aÿ. Going forward each year will be judged and tasted blind, with the best expression being selected for the next release.
Technical details: Verzenay accounts for 50% of the first edition. 80% of the blend comes from Bollinger’s own grapes with the dominant Verzenay component supported by Bouzy, Aÿ and Tauxières. More than 20% of the blend consists of reserve wine, an incredibly fresh and aromatic 2009 Verzenay held in magnums from its unique stock of 800,000 magnums | Vinification is in a mixture of 50% stainless steel and 50% oak, the latter in 10-year-old Burgundy barrels bought from Burgundy house Chanson and the wines spend some six months after fermentation in contact with the fine lees in order to bring about greater roundness and density.
