n.v. Bruno Paillard, Blanc de Blancs, Grand Cru, Brut Champagne, Reims, France.
I finally complete the Holy Trinity of Bruno Paillard Champagne with this beautiful, if not heavenly Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut, which means I finished the main lineup of their styles and this version was absolute class with fine mousse, depth and elegant richness. This all Chardonnay Blanc de Blancs Brut is pretty and pale gold in the glass and the luxurious mousse beads nicely with just the right amount of energy and contrasting creaminess, lifting this opulent wine up and allowing for a exquisite delivery of lemon curd, golden apples, peach and pear fruits, which are subtle with plenty of yeasty character, witnessed with hazelnut, bread dough and marzipan notes, along with mineral tones, wet stone and clove spice. I’ve been so impressed with the modern collection of Bruno Paillard, they have become one of my favorite Champagne houses, especially the low dosage or zero dosage Extra Brut, bone dry examples here, but this one, I tasted in September of 2026 in San Francisco, is obviously going to be the biggest crowd pleaser of the exceptional lineup here. The Bruno Paillard Blanc de Blancs is sourced from chalk on 36 blocks of Grand Cru Chardonnay inside the Côtes des Blancs., which delivers the delicately floral aromatics and stony grace in the glass here.
As mentioned in my prior reviews, the latest disgorgements of the Bruno Paillard lineup, including this Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru, 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 Premiere Cuvée Rosé, as well as the special, very limited 2009 vintage “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 a selection of prime parcels around Oger, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Chouilly, Cramant, Verzenay, Mailly-Champagne and the famous Bouzy, legendary for Pinot Noir. There’s so much to like here with Bruno Paillard, I highly recommend enjoying these gorgeous Champagnes at your next celebration, but always with a meal, where they really excel. The Champagnes here see a gentle long pressing and are low temperature fermented in a combination of barrels mostly and a tiny bit ofstainless vat and with a low dosage, to keep things dry, poised and focused, while also being luxurious, generous and elegant and typically see close to 3 years on the yeast. Again I highly recommend all of these awesome bubbly wines, with this one, based mainly on the 2022/2023 vintages and disgorged early this year, now hitting the market.
($79 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive