Bollinger PNTX20 / 750mL

Bollinger PN TX20 is a Pinot Noir Champagne from France built around fruit from Tauxières, a village in the Montagne de Reims whose name gives the wine its code. Like the rest of the PN series, it is a blanc de noirs: all Pinot Noir, and unmistakably so in its depth and shape.

The nose leads with ripe red apple, poached pear and dried strawberry, with pastry, toasted hazelnut and a faint smokiness sitting underneath. There is a savoury, almost broth-like quality that develops in the glass, which is typical of Bollinger's house character.

On the palate the wine is broad and quietly powerful, with a fine, persistent bead carrying stone fruit and citrus peel across a chalky mid-palate. Acidity runs firm and straight rather than sharp, and the finish is dry, long and faintly nutty, leaving a mineral grip that asks for another sip.

Serve it with roast chicken, mushroom risotto, seared scallops or a plate of aged Comté. It has the weight to sit alongside a main course rather than being confined to the start of the evening, and it rewards a proper white wine glass over a flute.

Drinking well now and over the next eight to ten years, with the structure to take on more toast and dried fruit character if you are patient.