Bruno Paillard Nec Plus Ultra Brut 2008

Professional Ratings

• 95 Wine Spectator
  This mouthwatering version shows the creamy, lightly mouth-coating texture, providing a fine, cashmere-like wrap around the steely spine of acidity. Bright and deftly knit, offering a lovely range of ripe white cherry and apricot fruit, fleur de sel, brioche and crystallized honey flavors. Briny mineral and oyster shell notes linger on the finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Disgorged April 2019. Drink now through 2033.
• 95 James Suckling

  Figs, quince, toast, hazelnuts, walnuts and white chocolate on the nose. It’s medium-bodied, focused and full of energy, with persistent layers of dried fruit and nuts, accompanied by very fine bubbles. Long. Dry and mineral on the finish. Chardonnay and pinot noir.

• 94 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

  Disgorged in April 2019 with three grams per liter dosage, Paillard's 2008 Extra-Brut N.P.U. Nec Plus Ultra unwinds in the glass with notes of pear and citrus mingled with hazelnut, toasted bread, dried fruits and warm biscuits. Medium to full-bodied, taut and chiseled, it's concentrated and complex, its tightly wound mid-palate complemented by a pearly mousse and underpinned by chalky grip. While it's introverted today, this is a classic in the making that will show brilliantly with more age on cork, even if it will always remain a comparatively lean, acid-driven marathon runner of a Champagne. Best after 2025. Rating: 94+

• 93 Wine & Spirits

  This top selection from grand-cru parcels fermented in oak barriques, where it aged for 10 months. That oak influence comes across as a dustiness when the wine is first poured, a character that’s gone the next day, when the wine tastes of fresh apples and pears. It’s tightly structured, tense and powerful, the cool vintage lending the wine a deep, meaty savor. Built to age, this will be more forthcoming with its pleasures in five years.