NV Billecart Salmon Brut Rosé

Tasting Notes

Goedhuis

One of the greatest pink Champagnes that continues to impress. This wine is delicate pink in colour, really fine and stylish with strawberry and redcurrant fruit. A captivating wine with a crisp finish that persists in the mouth.

Robert Parker, December 2005, Score: 94

Billecart-Salmon is one of my favorite Champagne houses, and their non-vintage Rose is a consistent winner. A delicate pink color is accompanied by gorgeous sweet cherry, strawberry, and mineral-like scents, assertive medium-bodied flavors, a delicate, crisp personality, and surprising depth as well as persistence. A beautiful berry character in the finish adds to this impeccable rose's captivating style.

Wine Advocate, December 2008, Score: 90

The NV Brut Rose is especially full-bodied in this year's version, which is based on 2005. Gorgeous notes of freshly cut flowers, raspberries, spices and minerals flow from this delicious Champagne. The wine possesses outstanding harmony, particularly in the way the fruit carries through to the long finish. The estate's Rose is 45% Chardonnay, 25% Meunier and 30% Pinot Noir, of which 7-8 is still Pinot.

Producer Note, December 2007

The production "secrets" and the vinification method of this cuvee go back to the origins of the house of Billecart Salmon and have been handed down for several generations. The Burt Rosé is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Menier and Pinot Noir vinified as white wine with a small percentage of Pinot Noir vinified as red wine. This cuvée is pale pink in colour and unveils a subtle aroma leading to an elegant, delicate bouquet of fine notes of red fruits. Its special method of vinification gives this cuvée a light, elegant attack followed by a fresh finish.

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.

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."

Pinot Noir / Chardonnay / Pinot Meunier

A classic and popular blend of the three grapes permitted in Champagne used by some of the most respected Champagne houses including Bollinger for their non-vintage blend and Krug. The predominance of Pinot Noir adds weight and richness to the wine, while the Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier provide balancing fruit and freshness.