The 2012 Billecart-Salmon
Cuvee Release
“2012 is one of Champagne’s greatest vintages this century”
- Tyson Stelzer
13 Billecart-Salmon Champagnes
Including their rare and finest releases to date
2008 & 2012 Prestige Cuvees:
Cuvee Nicolas-Francois 2008 & 2012
Cuvee Louis Salmon 2009 & 2012
Cuvee Elisabeth-Salmon Rose 2008 & 2012
“Billecart has long held a coveted position in my exclusive list of (now) just four 10/10 champagne houses, and upholds its mantle as the most elegant of them all.”
- Tyson Stelzer
Hosted by
Champagne Billecart Director Asia-Pacific, Sebastien Papin
Masterclass: 5.30pm, 13 Champagnes with nibbles, $245
Dinner: 7.30pm, 13 Champagnes & 5 Courses, $450 (Sold Out)
Thursday May 15th
The Champagne List:
Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve NV
Billecart-Salmon Brut Nature NV
Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blancs NV
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Louis-Salmon 2012
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Louis-Salmon 2009
Billecart-Salmon Vintage 2016
Billecart-Salmon Vintage 2009 (en Magnum)
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas-Francois 2012
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas-Francois 2008
Billecart-Salmon Rosé NV
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth-Salmon 2012
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth-Salmon 2008
Billecart-Salmon Demi-Sec NV
Billecart’s Prestige Cuvee Critics Scores:
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99 Points James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
97 Points Antonio Galloni, Vinous
96 Points Yohan Castaing, The Wine Advocate
96 Points Tom Hewson, Decanter
96 Points Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
96 Points Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast
94 Points Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator -
97 Points Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
96 Points Antonio Galloni, Vinous
96 Points James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
95 Points Yohan Castaing, The Wine Advocate
95 Points Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast -
97 Points Claire Nesbitt, jamessuckling.com
95 Points Antonio Galloni, Vinous -
100 Points, Tyson Stelzer, champagne.guide
98 Points Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
97 Points Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast
97 Points, James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
96 Points Yohan Castaing, The Wine Advocate
96 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous -
97 Points Claire Nesbitt, jamessuckling.com
96+ Points Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
96 Points Antonio Galloni, Vinous
95 Points Tom Hewson, Decanter
95 Points Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator
95 Points Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast
17.5 Points Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com -
99 Points, Tyson Stelzer, champagne.guide.com
98 Points, Peter Liem, Decanter
98 Points, James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
97+ Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
97+ Points William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
96-98 Points Essi Avellan MW, essiavellan.com
96 Points Roger Voss, Wine Enthusiast
96 Points Anne Krebiehl, Falstaff.com
17.5 Points Jancis Robinson, jancisrobinson.com
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Ultimate Distinction
In 1999, the Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart1959 was chosen "Champagne of the Millennium" by a committee of experts at a blind tasting session involving 150 vintages from the most illustrious champagne producers, organised in Stockholm by Richard Juhlin, a great champagne specialist. The 1961 vintage, for its part, came second….About the House & Vineyards
It all started here in 1818 when Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon were married, marking the creation of their Champagne House. This has been a family story since the beginning with Louis Salmon, brother of Elisabeth and a passionate oenologist, getting involved in the creation of the wines. Thus, over 7 generations, each member of the family has endeavoured to continue the family tradition, staying faithful to the same motto: "Give priority to quality, strive for excellence”. The champagnes of Maison Billecart-Salmon are above all created thanks to the knowledge of the men who rigorously cultivate an estate of 100 hectares, obtaining grapes from an area totalling 300 hectares across 40 crus of the Champagne region. The majority of the grapes used for vinification come from a radius of 20km around Epernay, where the Grand Crus of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay co-exist, in the ethereal vineyards of the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs.
Tyson Stelzer, The Champagne Guide 2021-2021 Edition VIThe House: Finesse
The art of crafting elegant, graceful champagne requires the most exacting skill. Sweetness, richness and breadth cover all manner of sins in champagne, but a wine in its unadorned, raw nakedness reveals even the slightest blemish for all to see. The mark of Billecart is made not by the heavy footfall of concentration, power and presence, but rather by the fairy touch of delicacy and crystal-clear fidelity. Every one of its dozen cuvées articulately speaks the house philosophy of ‘respecting the integrity of the fruit, freshness and acidity’. Billecart has long held a coveted position among the top ten houses of Champagne, and confidently again this year upholds its mantle as the most elegant of them all…. “Its elegant delicacy places Billecart dizzyingly high among Champagne’s finest houses, but also infuses its cuvées with an inherent fragility”. Billecart’s vintage wines can be coiled up tight in their youth and appreciate plenty of time to open up in large glasses.
Tyson Stelzer, The Champagne Guide 2021-2021 Edition VI -
Logistics
On the surface, there appears little to distinguish the fruit sources of this medium-sized house in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. Vineyard holdings are small, servicing a 2.4 million bottle annual production with just 20 hectares of estate vines (in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and Chouilly) and more than 300 hectares of purchased fruit managed by 185 growers. How does Billecart maintain such transcendental standards in each of its cuvées?Oak
As a devotee of Krug Clos du Mesnil – he openly volunteers the inaugural vintage as his favourite blanc de blancs of all time – it’s no surprise Billecart has increased the use of oak barrels for fermentation since 1995. ‘When we first made Clos Sainte-Hilaire in 1995, we had no barrels, so just before harvest I drove a big truck to Olivier Leflaive in Meursault and brought back 25 barrels!’ Antoine recounts. Fifty barrels in that year became 80 in 1997. A new barrel room now houses 500 barrels and two new large oak foudres, ranking Billecart fourth for barrels in Champagne, after Krug, Bollinger and Alfred Gratien. In 2018, the house added a spectacular new facility housing 29 new 80hL thermoregulated oak foudres for vinification. Old barrels, having seen six or seven vintages in Burgundy, are used for the fermentation of all grand cru fruit, and bâtonnage is conducted weekly, according to taste. Barrels currently range from five to 15 years of age.Long ageing
Billecart’s non-vintage wines are aged for 3–4 years, and its millésime collection a minimum 8–10 years and sometimes much longer – Clos Saint-Hilaire 2002 was released in January 2019. Brut Réserve NV is now released after 32 months in the cellar (up from 24 months), with a goal to reach 40 months by 2022 (though this necessitates decreasing sales allocations). Such long maturation necessitates a continuous stock of 10 million bottles in Billecart’s four kilometres of cellars under Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. Billecart holds a deep collection of reserves, with at least onethird of every harvest kept in reserve, held on lees at 9°C. In addition, one-third of Brut Reserve NV is kept as reserve for the next blend. ‘This is a key for consistency,’ Antoine emphasises. The precision and freshness of the Billecart house style is all the more compelling in the context of such deep reserves and long ageing
Tyson Stelzer, The Champagne Guide 2021-2021 Edition VI -
A results-driven, motivated Regional Director, I have a whole life’s worth of knowledge and experience in wine, due to being born and raised in one of Bordeaux’s wine-growing families. I am extensively experienced in wine consulting, retail, distribution, branding and representing wineries’ portfolios, with strong general knowledge of and experience in selling a wide range of alcoholic beverages.
As Billecart-Salmon's only point of contact in Asia/Pacific, I am solely responsible for sourcing and maintaining clients in 20 markets and achieving pre-determined sales goals. I manage the entire end-to-end sales process such as ensuring the brand is well positioned within each market, devising new sales incentives, and following up with orders and payments. With a very strong focus on engaging with the luxury segment (Michelin-starred restaurants, prestigious brands and 5-star hotels) through client dinners, masterclasses and corporate co-branding/cross-promotion, I also have a strong focus on engaging the on-trade market in each country.
Comfortable in all things wine, and educated to degree level in marketing and management, I possess strong knowledge of a wide range of alcoholic beverages. Significantly experienced in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, I am also bilingual in French and English, and speak conversational Japanese. With excellent influencing, communication and negotiation skills, I can work as well in a team as autonomously, directing others.
The Champagne List
First Course
Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve NV
The brilliant crystalline radiance that defines Billecart shines bright and strong in the 2016 base, epitomising the purity and precision that we adore of this beloved house. Meunier and pinot noir unite in a core of delightfully fresh, crunchy red apples, spicy wild strawberries and ripe raspberries, streaming out long and true with a line of lemon acidity. The subtlety of long lees age is intricately played, lending only the most gentle brioche, almond meal, honey and toast. Dosage is perfectly played to lift its fruit and its structure. It coasts long and refined on a sea of fine chalk minerality. The consummate apéritif!
95 Points, Tyson Stelzer, champagne.guide.com
Billecart-Salmon Brut Nature NV
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.
94 points, James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com
Second Course
Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blancs NV
I have long adored this wine and now there’s even more to love, sporting smart blue foil on the front label and the disgorgement date on the back. A bright, pale straw hue, this is a release that embodies its 2015 base in its contrast of structural tension with considerable concentration. Pear and apple fruit of depth and presence is cut with grapefruit and wild lemon. Reserves declare considerable dimension in layers of wild honey, toasted brioche, candied almonds, even suggestions of fruit mince spice. Such magnitude is contained impeccably, equally by energetic acidity and the omnipresent, mouth-embracing, frothing, salty chalk mineral declaration of four of the sparkling world’s most commanding chardonnay crus.
A grand statement indeed.
95 Points Tyson Stelzer, champagne.guise.com
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Louis-Salmon 2012
Incredible aromas of brioche, bread dough and pie crust with superb, electrifying fruit, from peaches to fresh apples. It’s driven, mouthwatering and with fantastic structure, yet it’s so balanced and creamy. Very fine and silky bubbles. It’s better and better as it warms slightly in the glass. 3.9g/L dosage. Drink or hold.
99 Points James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Louis-Salmon 2009
A seductive wine that’s almost identical in appearance to the 2017 Blanc de Blancs, this 2009 jumps from the glass with a buoyant personality in its perfume of lemon custard, honeysuckle, fresh brioche, a hint of almond, and juicy pear. Full-bodied, its wonderfully rich texture coats the palate with citrus oils, and it has a finish that won’t quit. It balances its warmth and solar feel with a lovely embrace and retains a powerful yet balanced finish. Drink 2024-2040. 3.8 grams per liter dosage.
97 Points Jeb Dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com
Third Course
Billecart-Salmon Vintage 2016
Aged on lees for 9 years this excellent vintage Champagne is comprised of 40% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay and 27% Pinot Meunier grapes sourced from predominately (73%) Grand Cru and Premier Crus. Lightly gold tinted base with rambunctious aromatics of pear and yeast, lemon and toasty almond. Rich and driven, this is a powerful experience reminiscent of freshly baked bread and even a citrus pear baked pie. Creamy honey characters lead into a complex, crisp and dry finish.
96 points James Halliday – Australian Wine Companion
Billecart-Salmon Vintage 2009 (en Magnum)
Comprises 40/33/27% pinot noir/chardonnay/pinot meunier, 73% grands and premiers crus. The low dosage of 2g/l and the warm vintage allow the fruit-based flavours free rein - white peach, Granny Smith apple and nectarine. The finish and aftertaste remain fresh and long. A house in grand form.
96 Points & Top 100 Wines for 2020; James Halliday Wine Companion
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas-Francois 2012
This complex Champagne has delicious aromas of waffle cones, vanilla beans, apricots and pastry with touches of white chocolate and salted caramel. It’s electric on the palate, which is creamy yet structured and focused, with a fine bead of bubbles and a zesty, tangy backbone of acidity. Long and tense finish. 60% pinot noir and 40% chardonnay (all premier and grand cru), 10% of wines are vinified in oak casks. 10 years on lees. 3.8 g/L dosage. Disgorged in the second half of 2024. Drink or hold.
97 Points Claire Nesbitt, jamessuckling.com
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas-Francois 2008
Long have I anticipated Nicolas François Billecart 2008 and my first encounter came with Antoine in the dining room of the house in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. I spent a full 20 minutes riveted by its evolution in the glass, moving me to tears. The profound precision and intricate, molecular detail that defines Billecart is transported to a higher level of fidelity in 2008, illuminating a brilliant display of fine chalk minerality of the highest proportions. A saline chalk core erupts from its depths, framing the most pure lemon fruit and strawberry hull; emphatically, unrelentingly and sublimely primary, without even the slightest movement toward evolution. In time, pinot steps forward in the most gloriously pure red cherry fruits. Even 17 months post-disgorgement, it is still intricately, tightly coiled, with an undeterred line and unrelenting persistence; a high-tensile spring of taut, pure energy that screams out for a lifetime to uncoil.
100 Points, Tyson Stelzer, champagne.guide
Fourth Course
Billecart-Salmon Rosé NV
A succulent, delicious and precise brut rosé, made of chardonnay, pinot meunier and pinot noir. It has notes of wild currants, peach skin and mild spices. It’s medium-bodied and vivid with fine bubbles and plenty of succulence. Sour cherries and redcurrants on the palate. Fresh acidity and a comforting, fruity character to the delicious finish. Drink now.
94 Points James Suckling, jamessuckling.com
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth-Salmon 2012
A blend of 45% Pinot Noir and 55% Chardonnay, the 2012 Brut Rosé Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon is a real success, wafting from the glass with aromas of red berries, rose, peony, orange blood and dried flowers. Medium to full-bodied, vinous and broad, it's dense and deep with a multidimensional core of fruit, racy acids and a textural structure, concluding with a long, delicate, mouthwatering finish. This is one of the finest rosé I've tasted at this address. Kudos!
97+Points Yohan Castaing, The Wine Advocate (October 2024)
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth-Salmon 2008
The electrifying energy of 2008 charges Elisabeth Salmon with a dynamism and an endurance like never before. To capture such precision and such concentration of epic, pure morello cherry and raspberry fruit and yet at every instant to remain steadfast to the elegance and refinement that is Billecart is the profound juxtaposition that elevates 2008 to dizzying heights. Testimony to the depth of south-facing Mareuil pinot noir even in a season as cool as 2008, just 9% red wine is all it takes to infuse a pretty, medium salmon hue that has taken on a copper tint in time. It confidently takes 14 years in its stride, revealed only in the most subtle nuances of vanilla and marzipan. With time in the glass, it billows to incredible heights of spice and even suggestions of fruit mince spice. A little fermentation in old oak barrels builds texture and integration more than it does a subtle nuance of jamon. Partial malolactic fermentation in a season with malic acidity as pronounced as 2008 is a nail-biting affair, perfectly played by chef de cave François Domi. Radiant acidity spirals with minerality as fine as ground glass to drive incredible persistence and build a shimmering jetstream that slices through a finish of endless blue daylight. It is dashing from the outset, yet possesses decades of potential coiled into its graceful yet commanding folds.
99 Points, Tyson Stelzer, champagne.guide.com
To Finish…
Billecart-Salmon Demi-Sec NV
The Demi-Sec has an identical blend to the Brut Réserve. It maintains the same finesse and elegance as this cuvée but with a greater dosage. It has a beautiful, pale gold colour, emitting a constant procession of fine, regular and persistent bubbles in the glass. On the nose it is lively with a hint of delicate white flowers which evolve towards aromas of buttered brioche. This Demi-Sec champagne is full-flavoured and is a reference for its perfect balance between sugar, alcohol and acidity.
Billecart-Salmon Winery Notes