n.v. Maison Billecart-Salmon, Le Réserve, Brut Champagne, France.
Known for its subtly, a smooth frame and elegance in the glass, not the flute or coupe, the lovely Billecart-Salmon Réserve Champagne dances easily on the medium bodied and crisply focused palate with lemon/lime, white peach, green apple and tangy quince fruits, along with delicate white blossoms, steely mineral, creamy yeasty toast and saline infused wet stones. I enjoyed many glasses of this disgorgement, based on a core 2020 vintage, along with a good percentage of réserve wines, from a multiple of magnums, all of which were precise and delicious with a lively small beading mousse that was tense, but luxurious. Sometimes I overlook Billecart when I’m searching for an interesting Champagne, but this one provided good reason to get too snobby when it is offered up, while not geeky cool, it served the occasion well and was perfect for celebrating a recent Champagne and Caviar event. The Réserve is made from stainless steel raised grapes, which included 28% Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims and the Grande Vallée de la Marne, 29% Chardonnay sourced from, what the winery calls, the best Crus in the Champagne region, and 43% Meunier from the Vallée de la Marne and the southern slopes of Epernay. With about 50% Reserve wines, or three separate vintages, this Champagne sees close to 50 months of the lees and actually saw an Extra Brut level dosage to keeps things excellently dry and pure. Over the last almost 30 years of exploring and drinking Champagne with serious intent Billecart-Salmon bubbles have performed well, with the Rosé, a once very rare item here in California, a go to for special occasions, but as my palate grew I found myself gravitating to the higher bend and vintage bottlings and the both the wood raised “Sous Bois” and the Blanc de Blancs.
The famous Billecart-Salmon Champagne house, as I’ve written before here in my reviews, has always been a family run winery and continues to be a though leader in the region with a long and prestigious history of elegance and innovation, including being credited with creating Rosé Champagne, and this wine pays a great tribute to that. Billecart-Salmon dates back, as they note, to 1818, when Nicolas François Billecart and his wife Elisabeth Salmon started this journey as a couple in love with the same terroir, and each other. Louis Salmon, Elisabeth’s brother, helped create the wines from the beginning and was a passionate oenologist that dedicated himself to the success here, he is very much remembered and honored even now. Billecart-Salmon, was founded in the village of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, near Epernay, establishing what would be one of the most renown Champagne Houses, which still excites even the most jaded of Champagne lovers. The Billecart family has remained faithful to Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and today, the seventh generation of the family, Mathieu Roland-Billecart is in charge of this Champagne House. Today, Florent Nys is the Chief Winemaker for Champagne Billecart-Salmon, and Florent, who, as the winery notes, has been working as an apprentice here under the watchful eye of family since 2005, and is credited for all these fabulous recent bottlings. Most of the cuvées, including the famous Rosé bottlings are made up of the mentioned Chardonnay, along with Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims and the Grande Vallée de la Marne areas, and (Pinot) Meunier from the Vallée de la Marne and the slopes of Epernay, with these chalky sites or terroirs all playing a role in this sparkling wine’s personality and adds plenty of thrill on the palate. The Billecart-Salmon Réserve is an excellent choice for those who want to take it up a notch, but not break the bank when out with friends or family that might not be grower producer savvy.
($69 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive