"This cuvée comes from the area on the eastern side near the grand cru of Mailly-Champagne, which is notably chalky with little topsoil: two-thirds of the blend is from the lieu-dit of Hautes Perthes, with the remainder from the nearby parcel of Les Vigneulles de Devant, both planted in 1970. This creates meunier that’s unusually racy and tense, driven by a pronounced salinity that harnesses and contains the ripe flavors of apricot, white peach, and nectarine." Peter Liem

Dosage: 2 g/L
100% Pinot Meunier. Aged in oak, bottled under cork for the second fermentation and spent four years on lees before disgorgement.

Crafted from old vine Pinot Meunier planted in 1970 , this wine comes mainly from the lieu-dit Les Hautes Pertes. An East facing terroir, near the Mailly-Champagne Grand Cru, is particularly calcareous with little clay.The chalk subsoil is covered by a thin top soil rendering a complex, saline, soil-driven version of Pinot Meunier. The grape varietal becomes less prominent on the chalky subsoils.

“The wines are quintessentially representative of Bouzy terroir, combining rich ripeness with chalky finesse, and are some of the best champagnes being made in the village today.“

- Peter Liem, Champagne Expert, Author and Educator

TERROIR
Bouzy is one of the 17 villages in the Champagne region that has been classified as Grand Cru, the highest classification that can be awarded. Its situation on the south‐facing side of the Montagne de Reims lie on a bedrock of hard chalk, but the depth of topsoils vary. Some parcels have a mere 20 inches of topsoil, yet there is a large vein of sedimentary soil up to 10 feet deep that runs through the center of the village. These areas of deeper soil are ideal for the difficult to ripen Pinot Noir grape.

VITICULTURE
The Paillard estate is divided into 28 parcels over 11 hectares, planted entirely in the Grand Cru of Bouzy. The average age of the estate’s vineyards is about 29 years, with the oldest parcels dating from 1956. Starting in 2012, the brothers have focused on a massive replanting of selection massale Pinot Noir from their oldest parcel, Les Maillerettes. Today 80% of their vineyards are planted to Pinot Noir, which for them is synonymous with the village of Bouzy with it’s south facing slopes that produces rich and aromatic pinot noir. They have farmed organically since 2012 but only became certified in 2020 - believing you have to go further. All parcels have been planted with cover crops for the last ten to fifteen years and synthetic treatments, such as those used against mildew, are kept to an absolute minimum.

VINIFICATION
For the vinification, each plot is harvested and now, vinified separately in oak. Fermentation is carried out at lower temperatures to retain the aromatics and the wines are kept in barrel on their fine lees until the early summer. Then starts a long process of tasting and blending. This is a unique moment shared only by the winemakers of the House (Benoît, Antoine and Quentin). Each plot is tasted, marked and commented upon until each person has a perfect feel for the profile of the year. Tests and blind tastings continue until the final choice: The creation of each cuvée. They bottle in June/July to maximize the influence of the oak and because they rely on native yeast fermentation and natural malolactic fermentation that takes time so they don’t want to rush the fermentation. After bottled for the second fermentation and kept in their 19th century cellars for a minimum of 3 years and as much as 10 years before being disgorged. Parcelles and Terre de Rosé are aged under crown cap and all the single vineyard wines (aged for a minimum of 5 years sur latte) are under cork.