N.P.U. Nec Plus Ultra

Enjoy with lobster, foie gras and truffles, drizzled with hazelnut oil.

BRUNO PAILLARD Champagne is an independent family-run house. Its exceptional vineyards are located in the heart of the Champagne region. The wines have a highly personal style characterized by stringent quality control at every stage of the process. Our viticulture is slow and sustainable the BRUNO PAILLARD house uses only the first pressing of Chardonnay Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir and each cru is produced separately in oak barrels or stainless steel tanks. Not only this but reserve wines are blended to make an extra brut “dosage” and wines are aged two to four times longer than the minimum required by the appellation. The house was the first to indicate the date of disgorgement on its bottles so that our clients can choose when to taste BRUNO PAILLARD champagne. The Premiere Cuvée Rosé Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru N.P.U. “Nec Plus Ultra” and our collection of old vintages are available at independent wine merchants and are served at the world’s best restaurants.

2004 was a year marked by calm weather, a far cry from the extreme heat of the previous vintage... It was relatively cool and dry compared to 10-year averages. March remained cool, and April not particularly frosty; bud break was late and flowering was evenly spread between 10th and 20th June. July, hot and dry, ensured the vines remained healthy, but also threatened the effects of water stress: this was finally dismissed with a very wet August. This rainfall revived both grape growth and maturity, which was reinforced by a magnificent September with plenty of sunshine and high temperatures. This stunning end of the season enshrined the quality of a vintage where an abundance of very healthy bunches was just waiting to ripen. The harvest started on 27th September for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and lasted until 18th October.

The oak barrel allows the wine to gently breathe and harmonise during ageing. In the summer following the harvest in July 2005, after 10 months maturing in barrels, the 26 barrels were re-blended. The second fermentation took place in the bottle, and a long maturation began in the darkness of the Maison’s cool cellars, at a constant temperature of 10.5°C. One of the essential points concerning N.P.U. is the exceptional length of maturation on lees. These bottles remained in the cellar for 12 years, before disgorgement in September 2017, and then for a further period of rest of two years after its disgorgement.

Vinification was carried out, as always with BRUNO PAILLARD, using exclusively the first pressing, the purest. But an essential feature of N.P.U.- "Nec Plus Ultra" is that fermentation takes place in small oak barrels in which the wines spend their first 10 months. During this period, each cru develops its complexity and acquires the slightly woody aromas so particular to the great Champagnes of yesteryear.