Billecart-Salmon : Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart 2008

The 2008 Brut Cuvée Nicolas François was disgorged during the third quarter of 2022 with less than three grams per liter. It has a delicate, pure, clean bouquet with aromas of orchard fruits, spring flowers, honey and licorice, with hints of brioche and pastry with aeration. Medium to full-bodied, chiseled and crystalline, with racy acids and a chalky texture, the palate is tense and the finish is long, penetrating and salty. It exhibits perfect Billecart style, yet tension is present, a sign of the vintage. It is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir (sourced from Aÿ, Mareuil and Verzenay) and 40% Chardonnay from Mesnil, Chouilly and Cramant, and it matured 83% in tanks and 17% in old oak barrels.

A vibrant Champagne, with vivid acidity enmeshed with the lacy mousse, creating a fine frame for flavors of black currant and apricot fruit, preserved lemon, toast and ground coffee. Reveals minerally hints of oyster shell and brine that linger on the finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Disgorged spring 2022. Drink now through 2030.

Lovely precision and drive to this with aromas of lemon curd, brioche, praline, apricots, pomelos, mandarin zest and salted caramel. It’s held together by a sharp, citrusy backbone of acidity, balanced with a fine, silky mousse. Both structure and softness here. Citrus fruit brightness on a beautifully elegant and seamless finish. 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay. 150 months on lees. 2.9g/L dosage. Drink or hold.

The 2008 Brut Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart remains quite potent and young. It’s starting to gain some weight, but it remains a classically austere Champagne. The fruit is reticent, and its contours are angular. The 2008 is a very good wine, but, as I have said in the past, it is a Champagne that belongs to the prior era here. Vinification was 83% in tank and 17% in oak, likely a decision made to give the wine more body in this decidedly lean vintage. Dosage is 2.9 grams per liter. Disgorged: first trimester 2022.

Medium deep golden with a mature yet lively mousse. Good layers and depth, combining chalk, ripe citrus and lemongrass with raspberry, ginger, plum and autolytic, brioche, nougat and roasted hazelnut notes. The palate boasts a fine concentration with fine extract and a lively acidity, layered with elegant fruit, no oxidation or oak; a very pure style with the power of pinot and freshness of chardonnay, with both chalk and earthy notes, with patisserie and lush toasted notes; perfectly balanced dosage on the drier side with a mild creaminess and long, vigorous finish. Elegant and powerful.

A deeper but still youthful golden straw color, the 2008 Champagne Nicolas Francois Brut displays ripe notes of fresh madeleines, honeycomb, cherry blossoms, and a hint of grapefruit as well as a touch of hay. A blend of 60% Pinot Noir and the rest Chardonnay, with 17% aged in barrel, it’s persistent and linear on the palate, boasting some real density and the persistent mineral tension that’s emblematic of the vintage. The palate is medium to full-bodied but is driving and electric, with an energetic and focused mousse, and it’s citrus-driven throughout. There is a good level of precision in this bottle, but it’s still very nervous and is only going to improve if given time that it deserves. It’s a powerful statement for this cuvée in this vintage. The producers only did one disgorgement of this vintage in January of 2022. The dosage is 2.9 grams per liter dosage, which is lower than usual for this cuvée. (It usually hovers in the range of 5-6 grams per liter.) Drink 2026-2046.