Bruno Paillard Blanc de Blancs 2006

Every vintage Champagne is a product of that particular year whether the harvest went extraordinarily well or whether it was more complex, as was the case with 2006. Each harvest has its own character, nuances and distinct traits that in some way make it exceptional. In Champagne they say there are “Pinot Noir years” and others that are more “Chardonnay years” and this depends on how the weather in different terroirs determined the ripeness and sugar levels in the grapes or the wine’s freshness. This being the case, it is up to each Maison to decide whether a certain year provided grapes that could express themselves and adequately meet expectations in order to produce a vintage Champagne, one that does not use vins de reserve but only the grapes from that year’s harvest.

The 2006 harvest at Maison Paillard inspired the energetic Monsieur Bruno to opt for a bold choice and produce a Blanc de Blancs Millésimé made from the best grapes from the Maison’s vineyards in Cote des Blancs. 2006 was a challenging year that began with a cold winter, with temperatures falling as low as -17°C on Montage de Reims, followed by a cool spring but one without any frosts. Good weather only arrived at the beginning of June and the vines blossomed at the middle of that month. Then July turned out to be particularly hot and humid before temperatures dropped in August with same dangerous rainfall that delayed harvest until the middle of September, when the sun came back and the weather became mild.

This weather was the unusual inspiration for a Champagne with an uncommon character compared to the austere Maison Paillard style. The vintage was dedicated to the theme of Volupté (Voluptuousness) which Swedish artist Jockum Nordstrom interpreted on the label. The grapes were from vineyards in Le-Mesnil and Oger (two Grand Cru villages where the Maison has some eight hectares and provided 60% of the grapes), Cramant, Avize, Chouilly and Vertus all providing nuances that made this Blanc de Blancs 2006 truly special. The wine’s personality was completed by sitting on the lees for eight years. The generous aromatic traits and unusual fullness are the coordinates for a mouthfeel with a surprising gourmand accessibility that is decidedly voluptuous. The decision to present this Champagne paired with the cuisine of Chef Matteo Baronetto at the ‘Del Cambio restaurant in Turin made its tasting even more intriguing.

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