Bruno Paillard : Assemblage 2015

Restrained black fruits with licorice root and white pepper. Reductive and closed, yet showing a very tight-knit structure with lemon and strawberry tension. Full body, zesty acidity and quite an astringent and austere finish. 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay. Disgorged in 2023. Dosage 4.5g/L. Best after 2-3 years of aging.

Full bottle 1,583 g. 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. All grands and premiers crus. 25% fermented in oak barrels. Dosage 4.5 g/l after 7 years on lees. Restrained nose and on the palate very much a champagne of our times without obvious fruit or even much obvious autolysis. Very tense and introvert. But it builds towards quite a subtle, persistent finish. Very neatly put together. Citrus finish and much tighter than some Pinot-dominated champagnes – perhaps because of their emphasis on chalky terroirs. (JR)

The blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay is rounded while also crisp. The Champagne is fruity, textured, layering vibrant acidity and citrus fruits. Ready to drink, it could age further, at least until 2027.

Many wines from the 2015 vintage are marked by vegetal or herbal flavours, but this wine from Bruno Paillard shows the year's best face (more than just a solar, sunny, ripe character, according to Alice Paillard). Among the mature notes of dried apple, sourdough toast and roasted grapefruit, there's a crispness and narrowness that keeps the wine from straying into chewy or heavy textures, as 2015s can. With aromatic interest coming on – toasted nuts, maple and powdered ginger spice – it's a really well-aligned 2015 for medium-term drinking.

Disgorged November 2022, the bright yellow 2015 Champagne Assemblage is 60% Pinot Noir and the rest Chardonnay, aged 25% in oak barrels with a dosage of 4.5 grams. Medium-bodied, it does not have too much fleshiness but possesses a powerful character. Aromatically, I initially thought there may be some green, but it feels more like tobacco leaf, perhaps. The palate is pure and long, and it has a spritely, fine mousse, with a delicate, silky texture and a mouthwatering saline flavor. It’s starting to develop some beautiful creaminess and fabulous silky length.

An open aromatic profile, with a few earthy notes from the vintage, that fresh cement, rooty character. Even though the palate is broad with a more liberated texture, the finish still shows noticeable bitterness.

Disgorged in November 2022 with a dosage of 4.5 grams per liter, Bruno Paillard's 2015 Assemblage (60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay) reveals an aromatic spectrum of nashi pear, grapefruit, bay leaf and cherry plum with a subtle high-toned edge. On the palate, it is medium-bodied, tightly wound and incisive, exhibiting a crisp core of fruit, bracing acidity and a long, lemon-tinged finale. From a year marked by hydric stress, it has turned out comparatively well, though one might wish for greater harmony given the pedigree of its sources—Bouzy, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Verzenay, Mailly-Champagne, Cumières and Graves.