Pierre Paillard

An Overview of Bouzy

This is a gem of an estate of just 11 hectares, unusually blessed with having uniquely Grand Cru vineyards in the village of Bouzy. Nestled on the southern slopes of the Montagne de Reims, this village, along with neighbouring Ambonnay, is famed for producing some of the region’s most intense, profound and exceptional Pinot Noir. If you enjoy the statuesque wines of Egly-Ouriet, you will know what these chalky slopes can produce…

History and Recent Developments

The Paillards have been crafting wine in Bouzy for over 200 years, yet it is only in recent years that the estate has begun to fulfil its true potential. Brothers Antoine and Quentin returned to the Domaine in 2008, before taking full control in 2012. Bringing energy, an outward looking sensibility and a deep respect for their fantastic vineyards, the brothers have rejuvenated the estate to such a degree that it now stands as one of the finest family houses in all of Champagne.

In The Vineyard and the Cellar.

Being Bouzy, the Paillard holdings are dominated by Pinot Noir, most of which is either their own sélection massale or Burgundian Pinot Fin and of an impressive age. One block of rare old Bouzy chardonnay produces Les Mottelettes while also contributing to the blend for Les Parcelles. Soil health is seen as paramount and as a result only organic composts and treatments are employed. Fermentations are spontaneous, malo’s never blocked, and the wines are never chaptalized or cold stabilised – this is the sort of hands-off winemaking that is only made possible by exceptional fruit and very attentive farming.

As of 2018, a new range of wines have entered the Paillard line up. Having spent a decade refining their Bouzy production, the brothers became increasingly interested in exploring the possibilities of other top vineyards across the Montagne de Reims.

The concept is simple – organic fruit from old vines from the best vineyards in their respective terroirs, handpicked by the Paillard team and then vinified in oak where it stays for 11 months before being bottled under cork for the 2nd fermentation. Each wine undergoes four years sur lie before disgorgement with no dosage. The resulting wines make for a fascinating study of place, all made in the classic Paillard style where crystalline clarity and depth combine.

The Pierre Paillard Range

Les Parcelles

A steadily increasing proportion of wooden barrels are employed for the small lot vinifications that are the norm here, before ageing sur lie in their 17m deep, spotless, historic family cellars. In the case of Les Parcelles this runs to an impressive 48 months prior to release –commensurate with fact that the blend is composed from 22 individually vinified plots of Grand Cru vineyards – quite a claim for a mere ‘entry’ level wine. Dominated by Pinot Noir this is a seriously delicious Champagne full of precise golden fruit and a deeply impressive minerality – it is without a doubt one of the finest NV blends we’ve come across.

Les Terres Rosé, Maillerettes, Mottelettes

Beyond Les Parcelles, an extremely impressive Rosé includes 5% of Bouzy Coteaux Champenois in the blend, leading to a pink fizz of delicate spice and real sophistication. There are also two sadly scarce single vineyards bottlings in the range; the old vine Blanc de Noir Maillerettes and a rare Bouzy Blanc de Blancs Mottelettes – both of which hail from historic and highly chalky plots of over 50 year old vines, aged for more than 60 months sur lie, before bottling with under 4 grams of sugar.

Les Maillerettes and Les Mottelettes.

Les Maillerettes is an old vine Pinot Noir cuvee from a single plot planted in 1970 which Peter Liem describes the plot as "one of the most highly regarded pinot nor vineyards in Champagne.” It offers up all the Bouzy expression you could hope for in a taut, intense focussed package.

Les Mottelettes is a rare Bouzy Blanc de Blancs from a vineyard planted to a massale selection in 1961. Listed at Parisian institutions like Guy Savoy, Arpege, Le Cinq and Taillevent, it’s a rich yet pure expression of Chardonnay grown on intensely chalky soils with full south facing exposure to the sun.

La Grande Recolte

Representing the finest and oldest vines in the Paillard holdings, La Grande Recolte 2012 also marks the changing of the guard at this gem of a Bouzy domaine. It was the year that Quentin and Antoine took over the winemaking in earnest, the starting point of their recent and rapid rise to fame. The wine is released after 10 years of ageing.

The Montagne de Reims Project.

The introduction of some single village cuvees from across the Montagne de Reims is an exciting development chez Paillard. 2018 saw the debuting of the northern Montagne de Reims villages of Ludes and Verzenay, north facing sites chosen to complement their south facing Bouzy single plot cuvees Maillerettes and Mottelettes. In 2019 they added Taissy to the mix. In time, we expect to see a couple more joining their ranks.

The result is a series of strikingly individual terroir-driven Champagnes; wines that differ in texture and structure as much as they do in aromatic profile.

Verzenay, famed for its cooler expression of Pinot Noir, brings together two old vine plots, Les Corettes, planted in 1979, the Champ Saint-Martin planted in 1967. Crisp and taut, with complex, expressive red fruits, citrussy white flowers, it offers an enlivening combination of delicate detail with a steely core.

Ludes, is a rare old vine Meunier cuvee from vines planted on north facing slopes in the 1960s where thin top soils quickly lead to hard chalk. The combination of exposition and soils leads to a saline, mineral driven Meunier that plays the varietal’s natural fruit off against a sense of tension and mineral exactitude to beautiful effect.

Taissy is another pure Meunier cuvee but remarkably different to Ludes, offering up more of the fruit forward Meunier character and less racy minerality. The vineyard here was planted in 1963 and is composed of a fine old massale selection, which in turn offers up classic Meunier notes of apricot and spice. It is immediately charming.