H. Billiot Fils Brut 2013
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker - Vinous
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Jeb Dunnuck
The first of the three vintages with the same cépage of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, the 2013 Champagne Millésime Brut takes on more autolytic character with its rounded notes of brioche and pastry cream, as well as apricot, red plum liqueur, and wet stone. Tension on the palate drives through the wine, with a tightly wound core of fruit around it, including lemon curd, chalk. and a hint of tropicality in the papaya realm. Drink over the next 20 or so years. Best after 2022.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Disgorged in October 2018, Billiot's newly released 2013 Brut Millésimé Ambonnay Grand Cru bursts with an expressive bouquet of mandarin oil, musky peach, spices and clear honey that's a touch more exotic in profile this year, reflecting the late harvest. Medium to full-bodied, taut and incisive, the vintage's elevated acids and the producer's non-malolactic style make for a decidedly chiseled, tightly wound wine that verges on the austere despite all its aromatic range. I'd expect it to pick up more plenitude with some time on cork.
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Vinous
The 2013 Brut Millésime is a powerful, resonant wine driven by a core of heady, gamy Pinot fruit. Rich and layered, the 2013 shows good depth and tons of character. Time in the glass brings out tangerine oil, honey, brioche and light tropical notes, with the slightly burnished character that suggests this is at its first plateau of maturity, a reflection of a disgorgement from a few years back.
Other Vintages
2014-
Jeb
Dunnuck
Billiot’s five hectares of vines are all in Ambonnay, spread over 18 parcels. Even more impressive is that all but one of their parcels are on the mid-slope, in the most favored portion of the vineyard area, expressing the classical character of this famous village. "The wines of Ambonnay are very vinous, with a lot of strength," says Serge’s daughter, Laetitia "but they are also very fine, with delicacy and finesse. They stay fresh for a long time." All of the wines are fermented in enameled steel tanks, which Billiot prefers to stainless steel, and the wines are neither fined nor filtered. In addition, they do not go through malolactic: "We have 100-percent grand cru vines, which always give a high degree of maturity,” says Serge Billiot, “so we don’t need the malo."
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.’