Pierre Paillard

The History of Champagne Pierre Paillard

The Paillards settled in Bouzy in the early 18th century. At first, family members worked in other trades: as shepherds, then as an innkeeper-cart driver and a schoolmaster. The turning point came around 1768, when an ancestor named Antoine Paillard acquired a few acres of vines in the village and became a winegrower. Generation after generation, the family holdings grew plot by plot, eventually forming an eleven-hectare family vineyard entirely within Bouzy’s legendary Grand Cru terroir—an extraordinary rarity in Champagne.

Benoît Paillard, father of the current winegrowers, steered the house toward an exacting pursuit of quality based on respect for the soils, yield control and plot-by-plot winemaking. His sons Antoine, trained in Avize and responsible for production, and Quentin, who oversees development, officially took the reins in 2016 after gaining experience in France and abroad. They immediately began converting the vineyard to organic farming and established a shared house style. In 2018, driven by their love of wine and true to that demanding approach, they expanded into the finest neighboring terroirs of the Montagne de Reims, a move that has yielded new old-vine cuvées since 2023.

Terroirs and Vineyards of Champagne Pierre Paillard

Bouzy lies on the southern slope of the Montagne de Reims, a privileged location where full southern exposure and chalky subsoil give Pinot Noir a distinctive character and identity. Ripeness is consistently high, producing full, generous wines that are somewhat rounder and less taut than those of neighboring Ambonnay, yet have remarkable longevity and complexity. The chalk provides the structure and finesse to support the richness of the red fruit, and the village has long been as renowned for its still wines as for its champagnes.

The vineyard covers 10.70 hectares in Bouzy, centered on named plots that are vinified separately: Les Maillerettes, planted in 1970; Les Mignottes, in 1979; and Les Mottelettes, in 1961. Since 2018, it has also included 0.61 hectare in Ambonnay Grand Cru (Les Aigremonts, La Guillotte, Le Village), 0.60 hectare in Verzy Grand Cru (La Voie Creuse and Les Champs-Mahaut, planted in 1930, and Les Courtisols), 0.67 hectare in Verzenay Grand Cru (Les Corettes, Les Champs Saint-Martin), 0.60 hectare in Ludes Premier Cru and 0.80 hectare in Taissy Premier Cru. The vines are approximately 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay; the latter is planted where the clay layer is thinnest, so the roots reach the chalk quickly. The brothers use their own compost, avoid herbicides and insecticides, and favor massal selection to enrich the vineyard’s genetic diversity.

Winemaking at Champagne Pierre Paillard

Each plot is vinified separately with native yeasts and natural malolactic fermentation, without rushing the process. The wines then rest on their lees for nine to ten months in tanks and barrels before deliberately late bottling in June or July. This allows the wood’s influence to develop fully while respecting the slow pace of fermentation. Extended aging provides natural clarification, making filtration and fining unnecessary.

Then comes the moment of truth: Benoît, Antoine and Quentin taste, score and discuss each plot until they have a complete picture of the year’s profile. Successive blind tastings then lead to the final blend for each cuvée. The bottles are taken sixteen meters underground to the family’s 19th-century chalk cellars, where their ancestors carved their names into the walls. They remain there for three to ten years, depending on the cuvée. The single-plot wines spend at least five years aging on their sides under cork, while Les Parcelles and Terres Roses age under crown caps. This extended aging allows the carbon dioxide to dissolve completely and the bubbles to become finer—a hallmark of the house’s vinous champagnes with a distinct sense of place. Dosage remains low, in the extra-brut range.

The cuvées of Champagne Pierre Paillard

Les Parcelles: the estate’s flagship, this Extra-Brut cuvée blends a mosaic of twenty-two to thirty distinct plots, all within the Bouzy terroir, with Pinot Noir dominant and Chardonnay completing the blend. It combines the brilliance of ripe fruit with the chalky vitality of the Grand Cru, striking a precise balance between richness and finesse. Each release bears a Roman-numeral series number: XX, XXI and so on.

Les Terres Roses: the house’s only rosé cuvée, also Extra-Brut and, like its siblings, shaped by Bouzy Pinot Noir. A delicate color, a fresh nose of red fruit and wild berries, and a fine, taut, deeply savory palate. Far from an ostentatious rosé, it is a true food wine that pairs equally well with shellfish, poultry and desserts that are not too sweet.

Les Maillerettes: a vintage blanc de noirs from a Pinot Noir plot planted in 1970, considered the mother vine of all the estate’s others, so closely is its history intertwined with the family’s. It yields a champagne of great aromatic richness, with sun-ripened dark fruit and white flowers, alongside the freshness, precision and saline touch typical of great Bouzy wines.

Les Mottelettes: an Extra-Brut blanc de blancs from a Chardonnay plot planted in 1961, where a thin layer of clay allows the roots to reach the chalk quickly. Old vines, low yields and partial aging in barrels that have seen a few years of use produce a finely etched, floral and deeply mineral wine with a persistent saline thread. A rare expression of Chardonnay from a Pinot Noir terroir.

La Grande Récolte: the estate’s prestige cuvée, vintage-dated and produced only in the finest years. It brings together fifty-year-old vines from Les Maillerettes and the best Chardonnays of Bouzy, spending ten months on the lees, then nearly a decade aging in chalk cellars before disgorgement. Complex, pure and refined, it offers considerable aging potential and a minimal dosage.

Ambonnay Grand Cru: the first expression from outside Bouzy, drawn from the lieux-dits Les Aigremonts, La Guillotte and Le Village, planted between 1966 and 1969. Ambonnay brings more pronounced tension and verticality than its neighbor, with floral and spicy aromas and a long, chalky finish. A fascinating counterpoint to the house’s sun-kissed style.

Verzenay Grand Cru: a blanc de noirs from old vines in Les Corettes and Les Champs Saint-Martin, planted in 1967 and 1979 on the northern slope of the Montagne de Reims. The cooler exposure yields an austere, saline and vibrant Pinot Noir, with notes of tart red fruit, citrus and flint, and superb aging potential.

Verzy Grand Cru: a cuvée announced for 2027, from exceptional plots including La Voie Creuse and Les Champs-Mahaut, planted as early as 1930, alongside Les Courtisols. These nearly century-old vines promise a champagne of rare density and depth, in the taut, mineral style for which this wooded Grand Cru is known.

Ludes Premier Cru: from the lieux-dits Les Hautes-Pertes and Les Vigneulles-de-Devant, planted in 1970, this old-vine cuvée explores a lesser-known terroir of the Montagne de Reims. It charms with its generous fruit, supple texture and freshness while retaining the precision and extended aging characteristic of the estate.

Taissy Premier Cru: from the Au Dessus des Monthouzons plot, planted in 1963 on the outskirts of Reims, this cuvée offers a more ethereal expression with immediate appeal. White fruit, flowers and chalky notes make for an elegant, easy-drinking champagne, often presented as the most approachable introduction to the Montagne de Reims range.

Coteaux Champenois Bouzy Rouge: a still red wine made from Pinot Noir grown in the Les Mignottes lieu-dit, planted in 1979, in a village historically famous for its reds. Aged with the same patience as the champagnes, it offers cherry, raspberry and gentle spice, with fine tannins and chalky freshness. It is produced in very limited quantities, depending on the vintage.