Champagne Brut Sous Bois NV 75cl

Equal parts of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier with one-third reserve wine, the oak influence here is one of compressing and containing the fruit. Deeply spicy with marmalade, very ripe apricot fruits, berries and red plums. The finish is fresh with pastry, spice, citrus rind and glacé fruits – think panettone! Based on 2009 harvest. Drink now.

Fermented in small oak barrels and aged for six to seven years on the bottle lees prior the disgorgement (dosage: seven grams per liter), the NV Brut Sous Bois is a blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay in equal parts whose composition includes 67% of the 2009 harvest and 33% reserve wines from the 2008 harvest. The nose is spicy, pure and fresh, delivering small red berry, white fruit and floral as well as nicely fresh oak flavors to the ripe and well-concentrated nose. Full-bodied and rich, this is a very intense and well-structured, pure and vinous champagne clearly driven by the two Pinot varieties in terms of fruit and body. The Chardonnay, however, contributes freshness, finesse and a long, citrus-fresh and tightly structured finish. Tasted from lot L 390A743 44031 that was disgorged in October 2017. Tasted 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.

A rich version, with a sense of finesse, featuring a frame of well-cut acidity and flavors of poached pear, pastry cream, black currant, candied ginger and salted butter. Offers a creamy, mineral-tinged finish. Drink now through 2020. –AN