This is an elegant and ebullient cuvée that is a fantastic “gastronomic” champagne; well suited for pairing with appetizers and the main course.
Disclosure: This wine was provided to me as a media sample. I received no compensation for this post, and all opinions presented are my own.
This multi-vintage rosé is composed exclusively of first press juice. It was created two ways: White wine from Pinot Noir, which after a quick press and separation from the skins, is vinified as a white wine. Then red wine of Pinot Noir is added to the blend for color, along with a splash of chardonnay for freshness. The Pinot Noir is sourced from the villages of Mailly, Verzenay, Bouzy and Les Riceys. The cuvee includes reserve wines dating back to 1985.
My tasting notes follow:
It pours very pale salmon color with red fruit, pie crust, citrus, roasted almond and subtle dried herb aroma with a hint of white flowers. On the palate it’s medium-boded, dry, persistent, very energetic and elegant with a delicate creamy mousse and raspberry, wild strawberry, mixed citrus (think a combination of lemon peel and mandarin orange) with a very appealing chalky minerality and a long finish. 12%abv|Aged 3 years sur lie. 6 g/l dosage (Extra Brut) , disgorged July 2018.
Outstanding – 92pts| SRP – $60| This is an elegant and ebullient cuvée is a a fantastic “gastronomic” champagne; well suited for pairing with appetizers and the main course.
We found it to be fantastic paired with Surf n Turf of Boneless Rib Eye and Broiled Lobster.
Certainly at $60 this is a special occasion wine, but I encourage you to drink champagne beyond the holidays, birthdays and anniversaries. It’s so food friendly and will elevate whatever you celebrate any time of the year!
About Champagne Bruno Paillard
Bruno Paillard’s family lineage of brokers and growers in the two Grand Cru villages of Bouzy and Verzenay dates back to 1704. Following in their footsteps, Bruno began as a broker in 1975. He acquired a deep and extensive knowledge of the region and its wines. In 1981, at the age of 27, he started his own Champagne house – the first new maison in nearly a century. After renting a cellar for three years and purchasing carefully selected grapes from independent growers, Bruno released his first champagnes. He then built his own cellar, allowing him total control over temperature, lighting and humidity. In 1990 Bruno built his current winery, and in 1994 began purchasing vineyards.
Champagne Bruno Paillard’s vineyard cover 32 hectares (79.5 acres) of land over the best Crus of Champagne: Le Mesnil sur Oger, Oger, Cumières or Verzenay, for example. Les Riceys is the exception; situated in the south of Champagne, it is the undisputed flagship of the Aube. Altogether, their estate vineyard represent 100 plots, each with a different terroir.
Twelve hectares of the vineyards are classified as “Grand Cru” which is remarkable given that grands crus represent only 17 of the 320 villages of Champagne.
The fruit from these vineyards cover 50%-60% of his production needs. They are farmed organically and sustainably – a rigorous and delicate job given that his holdings are subdivided into 70 different parcels.
Bruno sources the remaining fruit through long-term contracts with high-quality, independent growers. Each wine is vinified separately in stainless steel (75%) and oak (25%). Although they are labeled as Brut, all of Paillard’s Champagnes are technically Extra Brut as their dosage is 6 grams or less per liter. Annual production is 450,000 – 500,000 bottles.
I had the pleasure of visiting this house in 2014. One of the most interesting aspects our the tour (conducted by Bruno’s daughter – Alice) was learning about their unique reserve system. Starting in 1985, Bruno Paillard began by setting aside a portion of the final blend. Each year thereafter, a portion of that blend was mixed in with the new wine, with each subsequent year blended with the year before and the year before that, and so on. Each blend consists of the current vintage base wine, plus 20 to 50% of older wines. Because of this reserve system, a variant of the solera system used in Sherry production, Bruno Paillard’s multi-vintage champagnes incorporate an extraordinarily high percentage — 33% average — of reserve wines, the oldest being 25 years old. This large percentage of reserve wines used in the their multi-vintage cuvees adds depth and complexity.
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