Perhaps no other Champagne House has been as synonymous with world-class rosé as Billecart-Salmon. The mere sight of this distinctly shaped bottle, from a historic family-owned estate, sets off a Pavlovian response amongst Champagne fanatics such as myself. It’s a wine you simply cannot avoid if you partake in fine bubbles because of its graduation from best-kept secret to one of the most highly sought-after, in-demand rosés on the market. But tonight’s limited and deeply special offering isn’t their remarkable flagship rosé—it’s many, many leagues above it.
“Elisabeth Salmon” is Billecart’s extraordinarily rare prestige cuvée, made only in top vintages, from an enviable collection of Grand and Premier Cru vineyards. It matures for over 10 years in their mile-long network of cold, subterranean cellars and is subsequently rationed out to the world’s most exclusive, first-rate markets. Today’s stunner comes from the legendary 2008 vintage, a “miracle” year that’s been mentioned in multiple “best ever” discussions, and despite being released just recently, it’s quickly racked up three reviews barely shy of perfection. While I don’t ever see myself “scoring” a wine, it’s hard to disagree with the lofty numbers this extraordinary Rosé Champagne has received. This vinous masterpiece promises to blow you away, whether drinking now or on its 20th birthday. Distressingly low supplies are available, no more than three bottles per person.
[NOTE! We also have a literal handful of magnums available at $525 per. If you’re interested in purchasing one of these rare behemoths, click here.]
Billecart-Salmon is one of the oldest small Champagne houses still under family control. It was founded in 1818 by Nicolas-François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon in the village of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and is now run by seventh-generation proprietor Mathieu Roland-Billecart. The family farms 100 hectares of their own vines, supported by another 100+ hectares from growers across 40 different cru villages. The house is considered to be one of the pioneering producers of rosé in the region, and these days, rosé accounts for a more substantial percentage of its sales than most of its contemporaries.
Billecart’s flagship NV Brut Rosé is typically driven by Chardonnay with somewhat equal components of Pinots Noir and Meunier rounding it out, but tonight’s 2008 “Elisabeth Salmon” prestige cuvée is assembled quite differently: Pinot Noir leads the charge (55%), Chardonnay acts as the counterbalance, and Meunier is avoided. Additionally, over ⅔ of the fruit in this wine hails from a collection of Grand Cru villages, with the remainder being Premier Crus. The Pinot Noir is sourced from Montagne de Reims and the Grandé Vallée, while the Chardonnay comes entirely from the fabled Côte des Blancs.
At the cuverie, the gently pressed grape juice was funneled into stainless steel tanks, except for 17%, which went into old French barrels. After completing fermentation, the resulting wines continued maturing in these vessels until the Summer of 2009, when they were blended, bottled, and sent to rest in their labyrinthine cellars. Over ten years of lees aging passed before the wine was disgorged and given two additions: (1) a seven-gram dosage and (2) 9% still Pinot Noir, vinified by Billecart, from a single, old-vine Premier Cru parcel. This lends the wine its remarkably unique orange color, and provides additional complexities. From here, the finished wine rested even further until leaving Billecart-Salmon’s cellar in the Spring of 2021.
My goodness. It doesn’t get much better than this. Billecart’s 2008 “Elisabeth Salmon” basks in the glass (I went with a Burgundy stem) with a strikingly refulgent vermilion core with various hues of silver and pink. Within moments, deeply vinous and seductive aromas of lush raspberry, apricot, redcurrant, and Rainier cherry dominate your senses, followed by citrus zest, bergamot peel, salt-preserved Meyer lemon, crushed almonds, crème fraîche, strawberry brioche, dried herbs, damp roses, finely crushed chalk, and intricately layered spices. This cuvée is unquestionably one of the greatest aromatic tour de forces in Champagne. And the palate? A richly textured, full-bodied rosé that fuses spices, umami, pulverized minerals, and vibrant red-fruited muscle that reverberates for 30+ seconds on the finish. If you pride yourself in owning the best wines of Champagne, this is one of them. It’ll age for decades, too. Enjoy.
