- Colour Champagne_Sparkling
- Producer Billecart-Salmon
- Region Champagne
- Drinking 2025 - 2035
- Case size 6x75cl
- Available Later
2012 - Billecart Salmon Cuvée Louis Salmon Blanc de Blancs - 6x75cl
- Colour Champagne Sparkling
- Producer Billecart-Salmon
- Region Champagne
- Drinking 2025 - 2035
- Case size 6x75cl
- Available Later
Select pricing type
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Antonio Galloni, April 2024, Score: 97
The 2012 Brut Blancs de Blancs Louis Salmon is a gorgeous Champagne. Lemon confit, spice, baked apple tart, chamomile and dried flowers are all nicely amplified. The 2012 was done 75% in tank and 25% in oak, with most of the lots undergoing malolactic fermentation. There's a feeling of reserve in the 2012 that is quite appealing. This edition is terrific, but it also needs time to be at its best. I would be in no rush to open this. The blend of sites in Mesnil-sur-Oger, Chouilly, Cramant and Oiry works so well.
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Matthew Jukes, April 2024, Score: 19+
Mathieu Roland-Billecart surmised that the 2012 sits between the 2002 and the 2008 in style – not as austere as ’02 and with “more meat” than ’08. The bottle format seemed lovely, silky, super-long and gloriously even. It is a slender, willowy wine with a palate that flows briskly with intent. Its flanks are glassy-smooth, and all of the acidity is reserved for the serious finish, which echoes the NV that proceeded it, except this time, there is much more tension and verve on display. The cork-cap-aged magnum discreetly showed more breadth on the nose and a hint of toastiness on the palate. It seemed to have picked up more of the oak nuances, carrying them further forward on the palate. The other difference is that the magnum appears more profound, as it billows on the palate initially, however I can see both formats converging somewhat over time. While they are both exactly the same wine, they might never end up tasting identical because every time you open a bottle, taking a ‘snapshot’ of their flavours, they will not be at the same spot of their respective timelines, and this makes them both must-haves for the serious Billecart aficionado! Drink 2025-2035.
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Goedhuis Waddesdon, April 2024
The 2012 is sourced entirely from the best Grands Crus parcels and is dominated by grapes from Mesnil-sur-Oger along with some proportion from Cramant, Chouilly and Oiry. It is encapsulated by generous and expressive citrus fruits, spice, and dried flowers on the nose, which evolve in complexity and depth on the palate. Remarkably refreshing with laser precision acidity, a lingering finish provides beautiful balance and tension. The 2012 remains perfectly balanced thanks to a stretch of 115 months on the lees. Whilst being one of the last 2012s to be released, the echoes of 'best till last' ring true here. Patience has been rewarded with incredible quality that will evolve for those that have the patience and restraint to age further. This is the ideal Champagne for those looking for some complexity, but still retains freshness and approachability early on.
Producer
Billecart-Salmon
The Champagne House Billecart Salmon was founded in 1818 when Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon were married. The House has remained within the family and is now run by the seventh generation of descendants. They maintain the legend of this "spirit of Champagne." The passion of the grape cultivated as a philosophy around three principal values "finesse, balance and elegance."
Region
Champagne
Champagne, the world's greatest sparkling wine, needs little introduction - with imitations produced in virtually every country capable of growing grapes, including such unlikely candidates as India and China. The Champagne region, to the north of Paris, has the most northerly vineyards in France, with vines grown on slopes with a southerly exposure to maximise sunlight. The soil is chalky, providing an excellent balance of drainage and water retention. The key to the wine is in the cellar - the bubbles result from a second fermentation in the bottle and the rich toasty flavours in great Champagne come from extended bottle ageing on the yeasty lees. Until the eighteenth century, the wines produced in the Champagne area were light acidic white wines, with no hint of sparkle. However glass and closure technology developed at that time and it was not long before Dom Perignon, a Benedictine monk at the Abbey of Hautvilliers, started experimenting with blends and produced the first recognisable champagne. In a world accustomed to still wines, the advent of champagne was almost a flop. It was saved when it became fashionable at the French court as a result of Louis XV's mistress Madame de Pompadour commenting "Champagne is the only wine that lets a woman remain beautiful after she has drunk it." And the rest is history, with famous (or infamous) champagne lovers including Casanova, Dumas, Wagner, Winston Churchill, James Bond and Coco Chanel.
