2009 Bruno Paillard NPU

Matured entirely in barrels—most of them previously employed for white Bordeaux—and disgorged in November 2022 with a dosage of 4.5 grams per liter, Bruno Paillard’s 2009 N.P.U. Nec Plus Ultra reveals a bouquet of red apple, quince, dried apricot, grapefruit and ginger, mingling with acacia blossom and a subtle nuance of buckwheat honey. On the palate, it is medium-bodied, taut and incisive, animated by a pillowy mousse and laden with racy acids, culminating in a long, chalky finish. If one were to identify any shortcoming, it would be a desire for a more harmonious transition between the wine’s luxuriant bouquet and a palate that proves comparatively lean and driven by acidity. I have tasted two bottles of this release, one of which exhibited significantly greater oxidative character than the other—an inconsistency that informs my proposed drinking window.