Bollinger, a Champagne house with a long history, tends to produce wines that are more richly pinot noir-driven than many (at least 60 percent in any cuvée). Most notable is its Vieilles Vignes Françaises, produced only from pre-phylloxera pinot noir grapes, grown on a couple of tiny plots. Now it has introduced an entirely new blanc de noirs, PN VZ 15, a nonvintage blend of wines with a base of the 2015 from the commune of Verzenay, with additions dating back to the 2009 vintage. The wine is full bodied, with ripe pears, apricots and a hint of chanterelles on the palate. It’s food-friendly and excellent alongside scrambled eggs with black truffles (my ideal lunch when visiting the Champagne region). Its price is reasonable relatively speaking for such a wine (Bollinger’s Vieilles Vignes Françaises is around $500).
Bollinger PN VZ 15 NV, $104.95 for 750 milliliters, sherry-lehmann.com.
