Champagne Bruno Paillard Cuvée 72

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11 December 2025

Last year I explored the superb Champagne Bruno Paillard Première Cuvée and now we turn to an evolution of that expression from the limited edition Champagne Bruno Paillard Late Disgorgement Collection, released to mark 40 years since the inception of their Perpetual Reserve.

Where most Champagne houses store their reserve wines in isolation, at Maison Bruno Paillard they’ve long followed a different path. Each year, the newest vintage is blended into the existing reserves, creating a living and ever-evolving wine. This approach, inspired by the solera system used for wines like Sherry and Madeira, allows the reserve to build complexity across decades while anchoring the distinctive character of the house.

Once combined with the current year’s wine, the blend embarks on an extended rest in bottle, lying on the lees for three years. After disgorgement, the wine continues to develop for anywhere from several months to multiple years. This layered ageing process underpins the Maison’s commitment to the term “Multi Vintage” rather than the more familiar “Non Vintage”.

Around a third of the blend is drawn from the Perpetual Reserve, incorporating forty vintages from 1985 through to 2024. Cuvée 72 takes this foundation and extends it further, spending 36 months before disgorgement and a further 36 months afterwards.

The colour is a pale gold, animated by a fine and persistent stream of bubbles. Aromatically, there’s a rich impression of biscuit and roasted nuts, testament to the years spent on the lees. In the mouth it’s initially orchard fruit, framed by acidity and layered with deep pastry-like complexity. If held in the mouth for a moment, a gentle honeyness begins to emerge, a quiet reward from the wine’s maturity. Though technically an Extra Brut, intensely dry, the textured fruit, honey and pastry richness more than compensates, avoiding the supporting sweetness found in many lesser-priced options. The finish is long, building in strength as the wine warms, where so many others fall apart. I found it more than capable of standing up to food, in my case with fish, where the richness shone rather than faded.

It’s true, this isn’t a bargain bottle, but for those moments when taste comes first, it’s a worthy indulgence. Priced at £67 from Wanderlust Wine.

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