Winemaker Notes
Very pale and shiny with green tints. The effervescence is lighter than in the other Champagnes thanks to a less powerful bottle fermentation.First aromas are citrus – lime and grapefruit – followed by white flowers. While opening in the glass, a touch of almond and toast appears.The entry is lively leading to a complex combination of citrus and white flowers. The effervescence is extremely fine, silky and creamy. The finish is fresh and long.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Disgorged in May 2022, the Paillard NV Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru is superbly fresh, offering up aromas of orchard fruit, lemon, spring flowers and menthol touches. Medium to full-bodied, expressive and precise with a delicate mousse, it’s seamless, vinous, chalky and harmonious with a clean and precise finish. Rating: 94+
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Wine Enthusiast
With some maturity giving the wine a soft texture, this is rich and deliciously creamy. It has apples and a touch of toastiness along with a tight edge.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Coming from the base vintage of 2017 from Oger and Mesnil-sur-Oger, with 40% of each included in the blend, the NV Champagne Grand Cru Blanc De Blancs (with a compostable orange wrapper) pours a youthful yellow hue and opens to powdery and wispy floral aromas of lime candy, crushed chalk, white flowers, and fresh pear. Elegant, with a pillowy mouse, this medium-bodied Champagne is approachable and inviting, with a clean finish. It’s a very pretty wine and would be a lovely aperitif.
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James Suckling
Dried jasmine, white peach, lemon curd, chalk and pie crust on the nose. Medium-bodied with sharp acidity, fine bubbles and a fresh, zesty and peachy palate. Excellent balance.
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Wine & Spirits
All Côte des Blancs chardonnay, this blend includes 25 vintage of reserve wine, back to 1985. It’s a muscular chardonnay that remains bone-white, austere in its limestone savor, powerful in its pale grape-skin intensity. Built for dinner, it would work with a creamy porcini risotto.
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Wine Spectator
A fresh, lightly floral blanc de blancs, with the delicate mousse carrying a pretty range of Asian pear, blanched almond and fleur de sel. Clean-cut and creamy on the finish.
Appreciated worldwide as an iconic token of celebration and luxury, sparkling wines from France come in more forms than just Champagne. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from the northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Champagne’s chalky, limestone and soils and cold, continental climate create grapes with ample acidity and concentration. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier are permitted for use in Champagne.
French sparkling wines made outside of Champagne take the name Crémant. Crémant de Bourgogne, Alsace, Loire and Limoux are the best known. These are made using the same technique as that of Champagne, called méthode traditionelle, but typically are composed of the regional grape variety. Usually dry to off-dry with bright acidity, these are often characterized by qualities of lemon, peach, marzipan and white flowers.