New York, NY, October 27, 2021 – Champagne Bruno Paillard has released its 2012- vintage Assemblage. Arriving stateside this month, the limited-edition Champagne will be available in key markets across the U.S. The 2012 Assemblage is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, presented in 750 ml (SRP $105) and magnum (SRP $220) formats. At Bruno Paillard the Assemblage is made only in exceptional years, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2009 to date, now joined by the 2012.
Champagne Bruno Paillard second-generation owner Alice Paillard describes the 2012 vintage and resulting Assemblage as “strength in the face of adversity.” The nail-biting vintage, with its cold spells, hailstorms, drought stress, yet a welcome dash of rain at harvest to freshen the low-yield crop, resulted in exceptional fruit. The grapes come from eight preferred crus, and juice from the first pressing only is used.
Maison Bruno Paillard is well-known for the extended aging of its Champagnes, a house style that includes low dosage — 4.5 g/l for this wine. For the Assemblage 2012, 20 percent of the still base wine was fermented in 225-liter used-oak barriques. The blended sparkling wines were then matured on the lees for around seven years, followed by over a year of post-disgorgement rest.
According to Alice Paillard: “A signature of the 2012 vintage is its lively acidity, and we wanted to emphasize that characteristic. The wine also has strong, approachable maturity, expressed through its mirabelle plum and nut flavors.” A bold nose of sweet red bigarreau cherry, small red-berry fruit and white peach is followed by aromas of dried figs, honey, fresh ginger, orange flowers, jasmine, cacao and nuts. On the palate, those many scents morph into rich, concentrated flavors, with the whole leavened by a persistent saline freshness.
That deep and concentrated character inspired the theme for the label art. Artist Claude Viallat depicts a repeated pattern of furrows (“sillons” in French), those trenches in the earth that enable vines to root and grow. Since 1964 Viallat has explored the possibilities of repeated shapes, shapes that endlessly repeat, yet always create something new — much like wine vintages!
Champagne Bruno Paillard Assemblage 2012: SRP $105/750 ml and $220 SRP/1.5 L, Imported by Serendipity Wine Imports, Austin, TX
Champagne native Bruno Paillard started out with no land, stock, capital, or grapes – just a fund of knowledge and 50,000 francs after trading in his vintage Jaguar. His motive: to make the style of Champagne he enjoys drinking. His daughter Alice Paillard now runs the house, including 79 acres, almost half of which are Grand Cru, accounting for a high percentage of overall production. Call it a “small great house” or a “BIG small producer,” Maison Bruno Paillard blends the best of models, creating elegant, pure, dry, and longer-matured Extra Brut champagnes prized by connoisseurs around the world.
