Billecart-Salmon : Brut Nature

Firm and mineral, this tightly woven Champagne carries delicate notes of orchard blossom, Asian pear, toast point, and oyster shell on the finely detailed mousse. Drink now.

A dense, layered Champagne with a full body and lots of creamy texture. Lovely cooked apple and pie crust. 40% pinot meunier, 30% chardonnay and 30% pinot noir. The base was 2015, but in total it contains 10 harvests. It was bottled at the beginning of 2016 and disgorged in March 2020. Four years on lees. Fantastic release. Drink or hold.

Light golden yellow in colour. Fresh pomaceous fruit on the nose, with citrus, nuances of freshly pressed grape must, a subtle savouriness and some straw. Elegant on the palate with a very fine mousse, hints of butter and brioche and again a savoury character. Finishes long and juicy with a pleasant salinity.

A yellow-gold hue showing lovely maturity, a fine sign of patience underscored by confectionery, natural honeyed notes, and warm golden fruits set against a backdrop of dark spices and mocha. Plenty of confidence on the palate thanks to the richness of a sound, self-sufficient substance. Great mastery of this highly extracted blend with a rigorous finish, tamed by a coffee-and-caramel sensation with beautiful, mouthwatering bitters.

A more refined definition, baker’s flour, a Pinot marker that reveals itself with that kernel-like note. It’s a precise, well-crafted palette. The palate is harmonious with quality amplitude; this is a wine with better overall harmony and a more elegant finish.

The base of the NV Champagne Brut Nature is from the 2015 vintage, with 40% from 2013 and 2014, and 15% perpetual reserve started in 2022. It pours a light golden and copper hue and is fragrant with golden-yellow fruits of pear, chamomile, and a touch of raw honey. There’s a rounded feel up front, although it’s fully dry, with more yellow apple, lightly bruised Meyer lemon, and a chalky texture carrying through the palate. I feel this wine will develop a bit more quickly, though it’s in a good place now and over the next 10 years.

A sophisticated wine (a blend of the three Champagne grapes), this is a new release from this producer. It is dry, but the ripeness of the fruit offers a fine balance with the crisp, green-apple texture. Let this bottling age a few months and drink from 2021.

The pale golden colored NV Extra Brut displays a beautifully clear, complex and elegant bouquet of ripe seed fruits such as apples and pears intermixed with the complex, mature expressions from the reserve wines, which account for up to 55% of this 2014-based blend. It is composed of 40% Pinot Meunier, with 30% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. Fresh and structured on the perfectly round and elegant palate, this is a medium to full-bodied Champagne with great purity and finesse as well as persistent complexity. This is a serious and exciting Champagne with a long, persistent finish and stimulating salinity. No dosage. Tasted from lot L 144A892 47283 in November 2018. Disgorgement date: February 2018.