Lunch With Bruno Paillard

Lunch with Bruno Paillard at Merchants Tavern to launch 2008 Assemblage

Bruno Paillard is an elegant, dapper man with an assured sophistication; tanned, handsome and dressed in a navy blazer with gold buttons, he has an aristocratic, commanding presence.

His wines have much the same qualities - they are precise, classy and self-confident with great attention to detail. They all showed very well on the day and will clearly further improve with aging.

Bruno, who founded his eponymous Champagne house in 1981, came over to London for the day to launch his 2008 vintage, Assemblage, with a lunch and tasting.

Amuse bouche: fresh & deep-fried oysters, pig's head cromesquis

Champagne Bruno Paillard Rosé Premiere Cuvee copper-coloured, with three years on the lees, it is a blend of PN and Ch, disgorged 11 months ago. Fresh, elegant, substantial and deft. Very Good.

Starter: sea bream sashimi, blood orange, fennel and spring onion

Champagne Bruno Paillard Premiere Cuvee three years on the lees and disgorged 10 months ago. Orchard fruit, creamy oatmeal, brioche and a fine mousse; complex, deft, nuanced and precise. Very Good.

Main: roasted scallops, celeriac, chanterelles and Champagne sauce

Champagne Bruno Paillard Assemblage 2008 by my rule of thumb, the 2008 is a good few years too young for tasting; it is still tightly wound and nervy, barely hinting at what it has the potential to become. This precise, linear quality is reflected in the name of the picture on the label - Energy.

Fresh, vibrant, energetic with nervy acidity; understated and subtle with a compelling complexity. Very Good now - will surely become Very Good Indeed in a few more years.

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