Paillard: 2003 in Champagne ‘ranks alongside 2002’

2003 was a “great vintage” in Champagne that “ranks alongside 2002” said Bruno Paillard, following the launch of his 2003 NPU this week.

Bruno Paillard from the Champagne house by the same name

2003 was a notable year in Champagne for its climatic extremes, with a severe spring frost that damaged the early-budding Chardonnay vines in particular, and then an unusually hot and dry summer.

These two factors combined to bring about very low yields in 2003 – the average was 8,256kg of grapes per hectare, almost 50% lower than the average for that decade, which was over 12,000kg/ha.

It was also a vintage famous for an early harvest start date – with picking beginning on 25 August, the earliest since 1822 – and a year that is best known for producing wines with a very ripe, almost exotic flavour profile by Champagne standards.

Indeed, Jancis Robinson MW, writing in March 2006 on her website about vintage Champagnes “to buy and drink”, commented that “The heatwave summer of 2003 was too hot to produce Champagne of vintage quality.”

One of the first releases of single harvest Champagnes from this anomalous vintage was ‘2003 by Bollinger’, which, in 1 June 2007, she noted was “more like frothy pop than Champagne”, when reviewing sparkling releases in The Financial Times.

NPU 2003 was launched in London on Tuesday this week

However, the image of the vintage has been revised due to more recent releases from great houses such as Dom Pérignon and Krug.

Dom Pérignon cellar master Richard Geoffroy described 2003 as “a ripe, controversial vintage,” but said that earlier picking “made the vintage”, adding, “It’s the closest to a still wine in the history of Dom Pérignon. People said it wouldn’t last but the opposite is true; it’s ageing more slowly than the others.”

While Olivier Krug, launching the 2003 from the house in early 2014, said it “was by far the most scary vintage in my 25 years working for Krug”, but, expressing his believe in the ageworthy-ness of the Champagne from such a ripe (and consequently low-acid year) said it will go on comfortably “for a hundred years”.

“There’s a stigma surrounding the 2003 vintage of it being overripe and lacking in finesse because of what happened in Bordeaux. For that reason, a lot of Champagne houses skipped the vintage, or released it very quickly.

“With Krug 2003, I think we’ve delivered the opposite of what people expect from the vintage, as it offers a lot of freshness and finesse,” Krug said.

Similarly, defending the reputation of this hot, frost-hit year, Roederer cellar master Jean-Baptiste Lécaillon told the drinks business in 2012 that the house had made blanc de blancs, rosé and brut vintage styles from 2003.

“I have recently tasted our wines and they taste very good indeed with a rich aromatic profile and enough acidity,” he remarked.

Moving to this week, marking the latest release from the 2003 vintage, Paillard said that his 2003 NPU was from “a very challenging vintage” that produced some overripe grapes, requiring him “to be very selective”.

Nevertheless, he told db, “If you work with great care then you can create great things in 2003; 2003 was criticised by some houses who did not manage the vintage properly, but great things are possible in 2003.”

Continuing, he said, “The 2003 [NPU] does have richness, ampleness and maturity, but it is possible to get great balance too.

“We are proving that 2003 is a great vintage and we are not the only one – it is better late than never.”

When asked about other great years in Champagne, and whether they are worthy of an NPU release, Paillard picked out 2002, which is widely regarded as the best vintage of the Noughties (along with 2008 – the results of which are only just reaching the market).

“2003 ranks alongside 2002, but we will release the 2002 NPU after, because it is still a baby, it is still quite sharp, and I think we will be the last Champagne producer to release any ‘02.”

According to Bruno Paillard, the Cuvée NPU (which stands for Nec Plus Ultra), was born from the desire to produce – without constraints of cost – the greatest possible Champagne.

The prestige cuvée was first released with the 1990 vintage, followed by the 1995, 1996, 1999, and this week, the 2003 – with the 2002 to follow in the future.

Paillard said that there were seven rules to follow before making and releasing a NPU expression.

“It is only produced in great vintages; it is made only with grands crus grapes; it is made only with first pressings – although that is true for all Bruno Paillard Champagnes – all the wines must be fermented and aged in barrels for 10 months; the wines must mature in the bottle on the lees for a minimum of 10 years; the dosage is always Extra Brut, with 3g/l in the 2003, and it must spend a minimum of one year resting post-disgorgement.”

So altogether a bottle of NPU takes a minimum of 12 years,” he concluded.

Only 4,200 bottles (all individually numbered) of NPU. 2003 have been made and it comes with a retail selling price in the UK of £160.

Click here for more analysis on vintage Champagne.