Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Louis Salmon Brut Blanc de Blancs 2007
-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator - Decanter
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
It has a crystalline appearance with a yellow gold hue, displaying a luminous and sparkling sheen effervescence. An elegant complexity mineral, floral and yellow flesh fruits (bergamot, white flowers and fresh pineapple). It displays a aromatic profile with an incredibly pure chalky character. There is a creamy, tactile sensation on the palate with a graceful finesse and a beautifully refreshing balance with natural flavours (citron zest, wild peaches and white pepper). This wine is powerful, accentuating an aromatic persistence with a long and majestic finish.
Its great potential and its balance revealing a remarkable, dignified finesse worthy of the most beautiful gustatory matches: whole Corrèze sweetbreads en cocotte or a creamy shellfish risotto.
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
With 50% vinification in oak, this Champagne has a deliciously smooth character while keeping the steely edge of Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs. Its texture is such that, while ready to drink, it could age much further, giving the possibility of a fine maturity.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Disgorged in October 2018 with seven grams per liter dosage, the 2007 Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Louis Salmon derives from the villages of Cramant, Chouilly and Mesnil-sur-Oger, and half of the vins clairs that went into the blend were vinified in older barrels. It's still tightly wound, even after over a year on cork, unfurling in the glass with a delicate bouquet of crisp yellow apple, Meyer lemon, blanched almonds, elderflower and crushed chalk. Medium to full-bodied, deep and searingly intense, it's seamless and complete, with a bracing spine of acidity, a delicate pinpoint mousse, and a long, mouthwateringly mineral finish. This is a serious, built-to-age wine that will really reward patience. Rating : 95+
-
Wine Spectator
The velvety texture of this finely knit Champagne ripples on your palate, highlighting flavors of ginger-infused pastry cream, glazed apricot and lemon curd, with a rich hint of hazelnut. Clean-cut, with mouthwatering acidity defining the salty, mineral-laced finish. Disgorged July 2018. Drink now through 2030.
-
Decanter
The Blanc de Blancs shows an energetic and lively bouquet of fresh orchard fruits, spring flowers and citrussy heat notes. The tense and linear palate is moderately weighted, with saline and iodine notes on the finish. This needs time to be at its best but also offers easy drinking right now.
Oldest continuously family-owned House, Billecart-Salmon was founded in 1818 by the marriage of Nicolas Francois Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon. For over two hundred years, the House has developed a renowned expertise in crafting fine, elegant and balanced Champagnes.
Billecart-Salmon was first and foremost the result a union between Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon who, in 1818 and just married, founded their own Champagne House in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, a small village near Epernay. At their side was Louis Salmon, Elisabeth’s brother and a passionate oenologist who, from the very beginning, dedicated himself to the development of the wines. From then on, their heirs have never stopped aiming for excellence in winemaking. Today led by seventh generation Mathieu Roland-Billecart, each family member has endeavored to pursue the family tradition and stay faithful to the same motto: "give priority to quality, strive for excellence."
Billecart-Salmon rigorously cultivates an estate of 100 hectares, sourcing grapes from an area totaling 300 hectares across 40 crus of the Champagne region.
The majority of the grapes used for vinification come from a radius of 20km around Epernay, where the Grand Crus of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay co-exist, in the vineyards of the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs.
As part of the quest to increase the quality of their champagnes, in the 1950s, the House introduced the technique of cold settling combined with the use of stainless steel tanks for a longer fermentation at a lower temperature. Vinification occurs primarily on small thermoregulated tanks which allows the House to vinify parcels separately, preserving nuances of expression of "terroir". Low temperature fermentation slows down the process, encouraging aromas to delicately develop and allow the purity of the fruit to be fully expressed; absolute signature of the Billecart-Salmon style: finesse, elegance and balance.
Over three years of ageing on lees in the chalk cellars for the non-vintage cuvees and over ten year for the prestige vintage cuvees, the family allows their wines to blossom. Giving the luxury of time to play its role is also behind the grandeur of Billecart-Salmon champagnes.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’