2008 Champagne Billecart-Salmon, Brut
Critics reviews
Disgorged with four grams per liter dosage, the 2008 Extra Brut Vintage hasn't appreciably evolved since I last tasted it. Offering up pretty aromas of honeycomb, crisp green apple, white flowers and fresh pastry, it's medium to full-bodied, tensile and incisive, with a tightly wound core, racy acids and an elegant pinpoint mousse. I wouldn't open bottles from my own cellar for another five years, as this is evolving at a glacial pace.
William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (February 2021)
Not as broad as the 2006. Very good for shellfish, and sauced dishes. Dense, serious, concentrated nose. Very tight. Only just approachable. Very satisfying. Great concentration. Piercing. Long. Still chewy. Very directed. Notably dry but not painful. Approach from the end of 2019… Opens out on the end.
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com (February 2021)
A stunningly pure nose with aromas of apples, pears, grapefruit, dried flowers and fresh bread dough, all intermingled. The palate has a super fresh, sleek and vibrant feel with elegance, length and precision. The finish is so long and so precise. A stunning Champagne.
Drink or hold
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (February 2021)
About this WINE
Champagne Billecart-Salmon
Billecart-Salmon is one of the few remaining Champagne houses to be owned by the original family and was established in 1818 by Nicolas-François Billecart.
Most of Billecart-Salmon's fruit comes from a small vineyard holding, though this is supplemented with grapes bought in from the Marne Valley and the Montagne de Reims. Meticulous production techniques, from the use of their own cultured yeast to its long, slow, cool fermentation, ensure that the family has 100% control of production.
Billecart-Salmon is renowned for the quality of its delicate rosé, while the Brut Réserve (a blend of three vintages) is a beautifully harmonious and balanced wine. All have the ability to age very well.
Rosé Champagne
Rosé wines are produced by leaving the juice of red grapes to macerate on their skins for a brief time to extract pigments (natural colourings). However, Rosé Champagne is notable in that it is produced by the addition of a small percentage of red wine – usually Pinot Noir from the village of Bouzy – during blending.
Recommended Producers : Billecart Salmon (Elizabeth Salmon Rose), Ruinart
Champagne Blend
Which grapes are included in the blend, and their proportion, is one of the key factors determining the style of most Champagnes. Three grapes are used - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier.
26% of vineyards in Champagne are planted with Chardonnay and it performs best on the Côtes des Blancs and on the chalk slopes south of Epernay. It is relatively simple to grow, although it buds early and thus is susceptible to spring frosts. It produces lighter, fresher wines than those from Burgundy and gives finesse, fruit and elegance to the final blend. It is the sole grape in Blancs de Blancs, which are some of the richest long-lived Champagnes produced.
Pinot Noir accounts for nearly 40% of the plantings in Champagne and lies at the heart of most blends - it gives Champagne its body, structure, strength and grip. It is planted across Champagne and particularly so in the southern Aube district.
The final component is Pinot Meunier and this constitutes nearly 35% of the plantings. Its durability and resistance to spring frosts make the Marne Valley, a notorious frost pocket, its natural home. It ripens well in poor years and produces a soft, fruity style of wine that is ideal for blending with the more assertive flavours of Pinot Noir. Producers allege that Pinot Meunier lacks ageing potential, but this does not deter Krug from including around 15% of it in their final blends.
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Description
Precision, pleasure & elegance is what I always associate with Billecart Salmon. And in a vintage as fabled as 2008, these hallmark traits are revealed in greater detail. The Billecart Vintage 2008 is pure joy, tiny, steady bubbles stream through wild gold in the glass.
The nose is filled with baked russet apples, waxy lemons and the golden crumb of cherry crumble, all supported by the noble Pinot vinosity of Grand Cru terroir. The palate is a roasted medley of peach, Red Macintosh and white cherry, very seductive, very classy.
Pinot noir leads the mid palate, earthy and richly textured, with the hallmark tension of the vintage extending the palate with an electric Cotes des Blancs, mouth-watering tang. The mousse is silky and seamless, the finish is tart tartin with saffron flecked Chantilly cream.
The wine has benefitted from time in bottle, drinking beautifully now.
Davy Zyw, Senior Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd (February 2021)
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