Bruno Paillard : Dosage Zéro

The first release of Bruno Paillard's NV Dosage Zéro is a multivintage blend of more than 30 crus (or 106 parcels) assembling Pinot Meunier from the Marne Valley with equal parts of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from the northern slopes of the Montagne de Reims, predominantly fermented in small oak barrels. The cuvée "DZ" comprises about 50% reserve wines and thus includes all the vintages, starting with 1985. The straw-yellow to white-golden colored first release starts with an elegant, pure, fresh and vinous bouquet of white fruit and apple compote aromas with a lovely oxidative and chalky citrus touch. Pure, lean and fresh on the palate, this is a bone-dry yet fine, elegant, well-structured and grippy Champagne with beautifully ripe but discreet and food-friendly fruit. Have the "DZ" cuvée with a starter (with oysters!) or fresh (and possibly raw) white fish from the ocean. The wine has a good, mineral finish with white fruit and some lemon flavors. Disgorged in January 2018, after 36 months sur lattes. Tasted in October 2018.

Firm and crisp, with a crunchy quality to the lively mousse, this offers a salty base note and flavors of green pear, plum, preserved lemon, white blossoms and mineral. Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Disgorged May 2022. Drink now. 1,500 cases made, 250 cases imported.

A bright and pure bouquet with red berries, citrus, dried flower and pear aromas, intertwined with spice notes with air. Tense and straight, this is an energetic Champagne with a long, persistent finish. Disgorged: March 2019. No dosage.

Dried apricot, pastries, chalk, lemon and white grapefruit on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with crisp acidity and a linear, dry and focused palate. Fine bubbles. Drink now.

The NV Champagne Dosage Zero pours a straw/yellow hue and offers a more savory profile on the nose, with notes of chamomile, fennel, golden plum, orange rind, and brothy saline. This continues through the palate, which has a medium- to full-bodied frame, lending it more tension and structure. With a pithy texture, a frothing mousse, and a snappy touch of bitter almond on the finish, it should be food-friendly and is going to show well over the coming 7–8 years. Disgorged in May 2022.

Pinot Meunier from very chalky soil comprises 50% of the blend in the Dosage Zero, with the balance made up of 25% Chardonnay and 25% Pinot Noir. Light burnished gold in color, the aromas are open-knit and clean, with notes of dried red fruits, saltines, and chalk dust. The light- to medium-bodied palate is frank and direct at first, then reveals a textured mid-palate enlivened by soft acidity. 50% of the 2019 base wine was barrel-fermented and aged on lees for 36 months. Reserve wines selected from warmer vintages make up the other 50% and bring a generous, vinous quality to this zero-dosage wine. The bottle tasted was disgorged in May 2022.

Making up half of the blend, the reserve wines form the backbone of its expression. They come both from a solera started in 1985 and from wines vinified in oak, then kept in tank and in bottle for more than 10 years. Its deep golden hue releases aromas that are just as profound and concentrated; the rancio is splendid. The white fruits are rich, adorned with a woodland complexity, notes of roasted coffee and cocoa beans, and the enticing scent of calisson candy. Remarkable with aeration, nutty dried fruits join the register; the wine both tightens its line and amplifies its range. On the palate, it is enveloping like a great walnut and hazelnut oil; at its core lies a mix of salt and noble tannins, and the very long finish delivers delicious flavours of porcini and chanterelle, among others. A flagship wine for the House, it encapsulates and bears witness to its history, its present, and very certainly its future.

While this producer's Champagnes all tend toward dryness, this is the ultimate. The wine's total dryness is balanced by the essential aging that it has undergone both before and after disgorgement. Even so, its fruits could still take time softening into the structure. Drink from 2022.