Champagne Brut Réserve NV 1500cl

The Billecart-Salmon NV Brut Réserve is a blend of 40% Pinot Meunier (sourced in the Vallée de la Marne and the Coteaux Sud d'Epernay), 30% Chardonnay (from different villages along the Marne) and 30% Pinot Noir (from the Montagne de Reims and the Grande Vallée de la Marne). The recent disgorgement from January 2018 is straw-yellow in color and based 40% on the 2015 harvest, with 60% of reserve wines. The result is a light and delicately fruity flavored cuvée with aromatic and spicy Pinot Meunier and redcurrant aromas intertwined with chalky expressions and notes of ripe pears and yeast. Round and fresh on the palate this is a light, finessed, elegant, very delicate and harmoniously fruity Brut with a stunningly intense, persistent, well-structured and purely salty finish. Very stimulating as a soloist, aperitif or with lighter dishes. Tasted from lot L 419A701 42836 in November 2018.<br/>This is an impressive range of new releases from Billecart-Salmon, and the finesse and purity is outstanding. The 2002 Clos Saint-Hilaire Blanc de Noirs is stellar, as is the 2006 Cuvée Nicolas François and the 2007 Cuvée Elisabeth, one of the finest rosés in the Champagne region.

Bright, with tangy acidity and a lively bead, this displays fruit-forward flavors of macerated apricot, pineapple and Granny Smith apple, with hints of ginger, biscuit and kumquat. Drink now through 2016. –AN