The family-run house presents its vintage Blanc de Blancs from the cool, underrated 2013 vintage.
At just 41 years of age, Champagne Bruno Paillard is one of the youngest Champagne houses around. Yet it has a track record of excellence. As Alice Paillard, daughter of founder Bruno Paillard, said at the launch in London: “What is in your glass is the result of a long chain of decisions.” And all these decisions were made with excellence in mind.
Currently overshadowed by a plethora of expressive 2012-vintage releases, the 2013 vintage is a shyer year, less obvious – but certainly captivating if you take the time to let it open up. 2013 was a much cooler year: a cool spring meant that flowering did not get under way until July – and resulted in a rather late harvest in late September lasting well into October: particularly late when you consider the string of late August harvests of recent years. While the first half of the harvest took place in splendid sunshine, the second part was hampered by rain – and this clearly favoured the Chardonnays.
At Bruno Paillard, the Chardonnays were harvested in late September and very early October – before the rain in what Alice Paillard terms “a beautiful Indian summer.” The wine is in contrast to its previous, far fruitier iteration in 2012. Sourced from two grand cru villages only, namely Le-Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger only, it is a sleek and taut expression of the Côte des Blancs. Paillard notes that the wine is initially dominated by its freshness – and “deserves time.” Each vintage of Blanc de Blancs is given a motto and Paillard chose ‘liberté' for this wine – simply because its character is, as she hints, slightly elusive, that the wine has something that cannot be pinned down. Artist Anne Commet was commissioned to create the label with this motto. With its pristine poise and statuesque nature, the wine certainly fits the ethos and elegance of the house.
