Les Parcelles

Bone-dry and taut, with the depth that Pinot Noir from Bouzy's sun-soaked slope brings, kept fine by the chalk underneath.

Bouzy is a Grand Cru village on the south-facing slope of the Montagne de Reims, and the Paillard brothers farm an 11-hectare family estate there organically. Les Parcelles is their portrait of the village: 80% Pinot Noir, 20% Chardonnay, with 20% reserve wine from earlier harvests. Wild yeast, fermented and matured in oak, then three years on lees (resting on its spent yeast) in chalk cellars, with just 2 grams of sugar added at the end. Pinot power, reined in by chalk.