Bollinger, PN AYC21, 2021 - Magnum
Bollinger, PN AYC21, 2021 - Magnum
- 150cl
- 12.5%
- White Sparkling
- Pinot Noir
Couldn't load pickup availability
Optimal drinking window: Now - 2035
Est. delivery in August, 2026
Bollinger's PN AYC21 is a single-village blanc de noirs from Aÿ, one of Champagne's most storied grand cru villages and Bollinger's spiritual home. Made entirely from Pinot Noir - the grape that defines everything Bollinger does - this is a wine that makes the case for the variety's capacity to produce Champagne of extraordinary precision and depth without the softening influence of Chardonnay or Meunier.
The 2021 vintage was cool and demanding, which, as so often in Champagne, produced wines of real nervous energy and age-worthiness.
What the critics say:
"Oh wow! What a lovely Bollinger AYC21. Wonderfully bright freshly cut red apple skin is wrapped in smouldering smokiness on the nose. Beautiful concentration and energy-laden, almost driven vigour characterise the palate that is just so fresh, so bright and so Bollinger-signature creamy. This is defined by these three words: energy, elegance and elan on a taut yet generous body. This fits seamlessly into Champagne Bollinger's extraordinary - in the truest sense of the word - series of special releases that highlight Pinot Noir from different villages. It all started in 2020 with the release of PNVZ15. In this case the starring Village is Ay, where most of the fruit is from, supplemented by Tauxieres and Mutigny. 49% of the blend is from the base year 2021, with 51% of reserves. 25% of reserve wines date to 2012, 2013, and 2014. This is a wonderful fit showing warmer and riper Ay in the cooler 2021. Bravo!"
Aÿ is one of Champagne's most celebrated Grand Cru villages, sitting at the heart of the Montagne de Reims on a south-facing slope above the Marne valley. The soils are predominantly chalk overlaid with a thin veneer of clay and silt, which drains freely and forces the vines deep in search of water — the result is wines with remarkable mineral tension and vertical energy. The village has been producing great Pinot Noir for centuries, and its particular combination of exposure and chalk gives wines a distinctive salinity and precision that sets them apart from the broader, richer Pinots of the Aube.
Champagne is France's northernmost and most tightly regulated sparkling wine appellation, covering around 34,000 hectares across five main sub-zones. Only three grape varieties are permitted — Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier — and all wines must undergo a secondary fermentation in bottle, followed by a minimum of 15 months on the lees for non-vintage and three years for vintage wines. Grand Cru villages, of which there are 17, represent the top tier of a classification system based on village rather than individual vineyard, and Aÿ has held Grand Cru status since the classification was formalised. The appellation's cool, marginal climate means vintage variation matters enormously here — far more than in most French appellations.
The 2021 growing season in Champagne was, frankly, a trial of nerve. Spring frosts hit hard in April, devastating vineyards across the region and slashing yields dramatically — some growers lost the majority of their crop before summer had even begun. A cool, wet growing season followed, bringing mildew pressure and requiring meticulous work in the vineyard. Harvest arrived late, and the houses and growers who held their patience were rewarded; those who picked too early found underripe fruit that the dosage couldn't easily rescue.
What emerged, for the diligent, was something genuinely worth paying attention to: wines with high, precise acidity, restrained alcohol, and a tautness that makes them feel almost more Chablis than Champagne in their youth. Pinot Noir fared better than many feared. These are not blockbusters — this is a vintage for people who actually like Champagne rather than just the occasion it marks. Most non-vintage blends are drinking well now, but single-vineyard and prestige cuvées want until at least 2027 to show what they're really made of.
Explore related wines
-
-
Speak to one of our Wine Gurus
Speak to a Wine GuruWith years of experience, our team can help you with all your wine buying and selling needs