More about Bruno Paillard
Born in Reims in 1953, Bruno Paillard - a descendant of a family of brokers and growers whose lineage dates back to 1704 – followed in his family’s footsteps, and started working as a Champagne broker in 1975. However, in 1981, he sold his beloved Jaguar and started a Champagne house; the first new one in nearly a century.
In 1983, after a reclusive three years working like an alchemist in a rented cellar, Bruno finally reached the style of his dreams and created his first Champagne, using carefully selected grapes from independent growers. He began purchasing vineyards of his own in 1994, and the House now owns 33 hectares across 16 villages (almost half of which are rated Grand Cru and located in the best viticulture areas in the region – astounding considering that fewer than 10% of Champagne’s vineyards are classified Grand Cru). These vineyards supply 65% of production needs – amounting to an annual production of around 500,000 bottles. Very few of those bottles make it to the US, too. The vineyards are farmed organically and each harvest is done by hand according to the particularities of each parcel; a rigorous undertaking given the vineyards are subdivided into 40 different parcels which are then vinified separately.