No trip to Champagne would be possible without paying a visit to the great Bruno Paillard. Legend. I bought his first wine when his father, a Champagne broker I worked with, asked me to.
His son was just starting. Bought a Vintage Champagne with a very fancy label for far more than I had ever paid his Dad!
He is just so convincing is Bruno. An unstoppable force. Not content with building new Champagne House to rank with the great names, he now oversees the second largest group in Champagne. How do you do that? In a tight and fierce little world like Champagne. He admits to being 50+ now and might be slowing. He can.
His stunning daughter Alice seems to be fairly unstoppable too. Bruno is doing the good thing and building up his vineyards - now has 26h top vines. Still wears the old double-breasted, still drives the old jag, still lunches well but lightly, still looks disgustingly slim and willowy. To paraphrase PG Wodehouse; if you like you wine merchants tall and willowy, T. Laithwaite is not your man. But Bruno certainly is.
We dine at a great new place in the gardens of Les Crayeres, Rheims. Best table of course.
Visit laithwaites.co.uk
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