Bruno Paillard 'Dosage : Zéro – D:Z' MV

Guia Penin

Wine Spectator

Tom Cannavan

I have very fond memories of Paillard's very low dosage 'Nec Plus Ultra' cuvée, which I haven't tasted for a while, so it was intriguing to taste this new zero dosage wine. A lot - 50% - is comprised of reserve wines with vintages going back to 1985 in a solera-style system, and the majority of the blend was fermented in oak barrels. This bottle was disgorged in February 2018 after 36 months on the lees, as stated on the back label. The mousse is fine and racy, the nose yeasty and bready, a touch of coffee, but a pure citrus and ripe pear and apple fruitiness too. On the palate this is a smooth and sophisticated glass of Champagne, the fruit cool and slick, the absence of sugar nicely balanced by ripe fruit and that weight and creaminess of autolysis. Quite full, even touching on peachy on the mid-palate, it is long and has a salty, moreish finish that is long and elegant.

Robert Parker

Disgorged in February 2018, the NV Dosage Zéro is developing nicely on cork, opening in the glass with notes of pear, white peach, warm biscuits and toasted almonds. Medium to full-bodied, bright and incisive, with a racy spine of acidity and a sapid core of fruit, it's complemented by a pinpoint mousse. This release is based on the 2014 vintage, complemented by fully 50% reserve wines that lend it considerable complexity.

James Suckling

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.

La Revue du Vin de France

Gault & Millau

Bettane et Desseauve

Wine Enthusiast

As dry as the name implies, the Champagne is also full of fruit. It has a crisp texture, tightly wrought and with both citrus and green-apple flavors. Drink now.
About Wine Enthusiast

Gismondi on Wine

Dosage Zéro blend of 30 vineyards, and all three main grapes with chard and pinot noir coming off the slopes of Montagne de Reims, and the meunier, the majority grape at 50%, coming out of the Marne. Most of the grapes, base year 2018, were fermented and aged in oak before heading to bottle, along with a healthy amount of reserve wines (fermented in a mix of stainless and wood before resting in stainless and bottle for up to 10 years). This bottle spent with 36 months on lees sur lattes, until a zéro disgorge in May 2022. White cherry, crunchy red apple, is scented with fresh blossoms, seasoned with subtle toast, and kissed with ginger. A buzzy chalky base draws this along the palate, while the depth of the perpetual reserve is deftly harmonized by the 0 dosage. Stylish, and smart, this is a well built wine drinking very well now and with time ahead.