Simon Field MW reviews Bruno Paillard 2009 Nec Plus Ultra and 2015 Assemblage.
Nec plus ultra (rendered ne plus ultra in the Anglo-Saxon world) describes the ultimate, the perfect example—of Champagne, in this case. The words were inscribed on the Pillars of Hercules on either side of the Straits of Gibraltar, offering a stark warning to ancient mariners not to venture beyond the known world. There is nuanced resonance here because of Alice Paillard’s desire, with her eponymous cuvée, to “recreate the specific aromas that were once found in the finest Champagnes”; the rediscovery of what she describes as the “alchemy” of the past rather than an increasingly technical foray into the spectrum of infinite potential. A good, old-fashioned Champagne, in other words.
Nec Plus Ultra 2009: Come in number nine
Has she succeeded? The 2009 is only the ninth outing for the wine (in good company alongside ’08, ’04, ’03, ’02, ’99, ’96, ’95, and ’90) and is invariably one of the latest prestige cuvées to come to market, having in this instance enjoyed 12 years on its lees and then more than 18 months of post-disgorgement aging. “No two of the nine are alike,” she reveals—the ’08, for example, is built around its “energy”; the 2009 on its “depth.” The differences in vintage are, almost paradoxically, highlighted by what she describes as a “strict minimum in variation of the parameters of vinification.” The vintage is sacrosanct, in other words, and all other variables are merely pragmatic. Thus, there is always full malolactic fermentation, and the wine is always fermented in used barriques. Where there are differences, they are intended to highlight rather than challenge the personality of the vintage. In 2009, then, the Pinot Noir is shared equally between the grand cru villages of Verzenay, Mailly, and Bouzy (in 2008, Bouzy was favored); in 2009, unlike 2008, there is twice as much Chardonnay from Oger than from Mesnil. Otherwise, the template is constant.
In terms of dosage, Alice is characteristically incisive: “It’s a matter of attitude. Is the dosage used to bring a balance, or should it be the logical continuation of the character of the vintage? I try for the latter: 2008 was 3g/l, and the dosage was not used to ‘civilize’ the somewhat brutal energy of the vintage; rather, to accomplish it. 2009 is 4.5g/l and would probably have been delicious with 3g/l, but I didn’t wish to give this wine a smaller jacket to make it look thinner.” In other words, 2009 was solaire, warm and generous of temperament, and these natural attributes should not be challenged by a low dosage. The vintage is sacrosanct.
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Vintage Assemblage 20215: A blank page
When it comes to the next wine, the Vintage Assemblage, Alice describes a “blank page” (it might have been called Tabula Rasa in linguistic deference to its sibling), with far more scope for some of the variables mentioned above to come into play. Pragmatism, especially in the face of a difficult vintage such as this, is key—for example, in the selection of the fruit and the specific wines chosen for oak fermentation (only 25% for this wine). The picking date was vital in 2015, a year marked by both drought and humidity, when it was a real challenge to achieve physiological ripeness. Un binage vaut deux arrosages (“plowing once is the equal of watering twice”), Alice reminds us, implying that her vines are able to root deeply and to resist stress. There are no vegetal notes present in the final blend, which was harvested September 2–18 and is made up of 58% of Pinot Noir and 42% of Chardonnay. The wine has been aged on its lees for seven years and has also benefited from significant post-disgorgement aging. A work of art, as usual, adorns the label; this time the painting is the very well-named Elan (Enthusiasm), by Gérard Titus Carmel. Primary colors adorn this bright floral tribute. This is a happy wine.
Two different styles, then, the 2015 majoring on fruit and exuberant power, and the 2009 NPU on a rich, vinous complexity. “Our ambition and dream with NPU,” concludes Alice, “is to create over the decades a library that will serve as a conservatory of the key vintages in Champagne.” It is fair to surmise that there is something very classic and traditional in the style of NPU (a tasting next to Dom Pérignon would be instructive) and that it does indeed recall some of the triumphs of the past. “So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.” I think Jay Gatsby would certainly have enjoyed the 2009 Nec Plus Ultra.
Tasting
2015 Assemblage
(58% Pinot Noir, 42% Chardonnay; disgorged November 2022; dosage 4.5g/l)
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Crystalline pale lemon, with a hint of Chablisien green for good measure. The nose is forward and confident: blood orange, kumquat, strawberry, and cherry, with hints of cassis and pepper. Puppy fat generosity, very 2015, then a pleasing weave of orchard fruit, nougat, and soft spice. Plenty to be enthusiastic about. | 93–94
2009 Nec Plus Ultra
(50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay; disgorged November 2022; dosage 4.5g/l)
Rarefied Welsh gold, with a pleasing iridescence and a cascade of playful bubbles. Reticent on the nose, statuesque, à la Rodin’s Thinker; not the faintest hint of oxidation, but with a little air, we welcome dried fruits and tobacco, with ginger, nutmeg, and sandalwood all evidenced; a touch of vanillin even after all these years. Hazelnut and clove, beeswax and jasmine… With time, the nuances of harmony all stake a claim for attention. Vinous grip and a resolute maturity; old-school—hence the Latin. | 95
