Bruno Paillard - Brut Millésime Blanc de Blancs, Champagne

Brut Millésime Blanc de Blancs, Champagne

The Blanc de Blancs Millésime is made from a selection of Chardonnay grapes that come from the grand cru vineyards of of Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. As always with Bruno Paillard wines, only the first pressing—the purest—has been used. Following the initial fermentation, this with was assembled for secondary fermentation and aged for 10 years in Paillard’s cellars. Following disgorgement, a small dosage (under 10 g/L) was added, and the wine matured for one additional year before release.

  • 1996 Vintage

    Weather conditions in 1996 started with a dry and mild winter, with frost only in February. Budding took place mid-April with warm temperatures followed by a cool but dry May. A bright beginning of June with a lot of sunlight helped the flowering which took place between the 16th and the 19th. After a luminous but not very sunny summer, the first grapes were harvested an the 14th of September and the harvest continued until the first of October. The dates were percetly normal for any given year, but in 1996 the sugar content rose very quickly while the fruit retained an exceptionally high level of acidity. All the conditions combined to create an exceptional vintage.

    • “The graphite, toast, spice, candied berry and coconut aromas seduce you and the class and finesse hold your attention. Picks up mineral and citrus flavors. Supersilky in texture, with harmony and a youthful expression as this lingers on the seemingly endless aftertaste.” 97 Points Wine Spectator

    • "The 1996 Brut Blanc de Blancs is a rich, explosive wine that bursts onto the palate with a blast of ripe fruit. Generous notes of toasted oak, flowers and nuts follow, but everything is woven together in a fabric of unsual brilliance. The oak remains quite prominent and borderline intrusive but stylistically everything works. The wine comes together in the glass, where it also gains additional weight and fills out nicely. This is a powerful, heady and totally opulent Champagne that calls for food. In the right context it is sure to be extraordinary. At the risk of offending the Champenoise, the 1996 Brut Blanc de Blancs seems to scream for a poached egg generously topped with white Alba truffles! Disgorged: July, 2007. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2019." 94 Points Wine Advocate