2009 Bruno Paillard, “Nec Plus Ultra” Cuvée, Extra Brut Champagne, Reims, France.
The gorgeous and richly flavored N.P.U. Extra Brut Champagne from Bruno Paillard was one of year’s treats, disgorged in 2024, with an extremely low, three grams per liter dosage, after ten years on the yeast, makes this a a crisply bone dry, but wonderfully expressive chalk driven Champagne that thrills for terroir purity and luxurious elegance! This 50% Pinot Noir and 50% Chardonnay Nec Plus Ultra is lovely golden in color in the glass with a fine beading creamy mousse and a rich palate of lemony citrus, apple, dried pineapple and golden fig fruits, along with roasted hazelnut, buttery brioche, clove, wet stone and delicate lingering oyster shell chalkiness. This is unbelievable stuff, a brilliantly balanced and especially seductive to those that prefer the vitality, drive and clarity of Extra Brut Grower Fizz, which is absolutely right up my alley. This N.P.U. Cuvée is made from grapes, all sourced from Grand Cru vineyards, with seven prime parcels included from Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Chouilly, Cramant, Verzenay, Mailly-Champagne and the famous Bouzy, legendary for Pinot Noir. The wine was fermented in small barrels, not unlike Krug, and saw 10 months in the wood, adding depth and vinous texture, before seeing the nine plus years on the leesy yeast in bottle. Over my career in the wine business, I had not had many opportunities to explore the range here at Bruno Paillard, but recently have dug into them and I am joyously impressed by their collection, which I highly recommend!
Again, it was a thrill to taste through the latest disgorgements of the Bruno Paillard lineup, including the Premiere Cuvée, the beautiful Blanc de Noirs, which saw three years on the lees, and (my favorite) the tension filled and extremely dry Zero Dosage bottling, along with this special, very limited Nec Plus Ultra Extra Brut. Champagne Bruno Paillard, with their Réserve Perpétuelle, that dates back 40 years to 1985, is a true enthusiast producer and an insiders choice Champagne house, that focuses on terroirs and structure, with this one a blend of mostly cooler, limestone influenced Pinot Noir and Chardonnay Grand Cru sites. The Chardonnay component really is the strength and structure here, but the finesse and ultra fine detailing that makes this Champagne sing it haunting song is probably the Pinot Noir. Paillard says this wine is composed of first pressing Pinot Noir from elite Grands Crus, these being Verzenay, Mailly-Champagne and the famous Bouzy, as noted above. The winery adds, they have a predominantly northern orientation, a bit cooler, and these historic, chalky terroirs bring together the elegance and distinctive depth of Pinot Noir, in the same way Burgundy does, but obviously for this non-skin contact Champagne. After the extended cellar aging and conditioning, this Champagne was rested another two full years before release. I was able to taste this pre-market, when at the Chicago portfolio tasting, and grateful to importer Massanois and my friends at Bruno Paillard for the chance to try it before it actually gets to the States, it is available now through pre-arrival offers.
($240 Est.) 97 Points, grapelive