WORDS BY JOE GURBA
Rare Wine Report Many Albertans outside of the Drinks’ business don’t realize how good we have it here for wine selection. We live in one of the best wine markets in the world. Every week we see a new wave of lovely and limited wines appear in our shops, however briefly, until those in the know snap them up. This is a small sampling of the terroir driven wines you need to hunt down this month; wines made on small farms by true vignerons with that rare gift for gently translating nature into art. These wines are nourishing and artful records of another lap around the sun.
It’s widely held that Bouzy, the grand cru village in the south of the Montagne de Reims region of Champagne, grows the finest Pinot Noir for sparkling wine in the world. Stationed in the heart of Bouzy, I see no reason why 7th and 8th generation growers Benoit Paillard and his sons Quentin and Antoine would not agree. Certainly their champagnes make a strong case for it. Bouzy’s southern aspect, clay topsoil, classic chalk bedrock, and windbreak of forest at the crest of the slope all combine into the ideal ripening conditions for the elusive Pinot Noir, while still fostering the dazzling acidity needed for great bubbles. What most draws me into the Paillards’ grower champagnes is their devotion to farming excellent fruit, first and foremost. With only 11 hectares to their name, the Paillards have returned to selection massale: planting their vineyards from clippings of their oldest vines rather than ordering clones. This was the norm before the 70s and their revival of the practice promotes genetic diversity and a greater sense of singularity and place in every bottle. And in a wet and chilly appellation, they’ve also been early to bravely abandon chemicals, instead crafting their own organic composts to invigorate their soils. Les Parcelles is Pierre Paillard’s entry level cuvée, yet it swings far above its price. Two thirds of the ‘XV’ is based in the 2015 vintage with the remainder blended in from reserve wines. Les We also sees roughly two thirds Pinot Noir giving structure and power and 30% Chardonnay giving elegance and freshness. The second fermentations (in the bottle) are rested for four years on their lees (three years longer than required) creating a fine bead and plenty of biscuity complexity. These sleeping beauties enjoy their slumber in the domaine's 19th century 10º cellars, 60 meters below, as if to belabour their underground status. But these wines are less underground by the day, so get them now before they’re three figures.
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