Billecart-Salmon Louis Salmon Brut Blanc de Blancs 2008
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Winemaker Notes
This cuvée was named in tribute to Louis, Elisabeth Salmon’s brother, who was passionate about oenology and highly involved in winemaking from the earliest creation of the House. Originating from the best parcels of the Côte des Blancs, the Blanc de Blancs vintage is endowed with purity and minerality.
Crystal clear pale gold color with delicate glints marked by a nuanced patina of yellow and green. A persistent and fascinating effervescence, brimming with light. The first expression is signed by an elegant, perfect and complex maturity, yellow fruits and citrus (candied mandarin, limoncello, conference pear). An aromatic
profile of a sophisticated purity and a chalky, balanced and crystalline character (cedar and raw butter). A creamy sensation in the mouth with a beautifully chiselled finesse. Lovely refreshing balance with natural flavors (zest of citron, almond biscuit and white pepper). This powerful wine with a majestic typicity prolongs its finish towards an aromatic persistence of incredible length (flesh of sweet citrus fruits, cardamom and vanilla-flavoured cream puffs). The unique dimension of a great Blanc de Blancs, pure and intense, with a directness perfectly associated with its low dosage.
Its potential and its balance express a remarkable finesse worthy of the most sophisticated food pairings (a casserole of whole calf sweetbread, a creamy shellfish risotto).
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2008 Champagne Billecart-Salmon Louis Salmon Brut Blanc de Blancs is active and complex on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine shines with aromas and flavors of ripe citrus, green apples, and earthy notes with a touch of creaminess in the finish. Pair it with Hamachi sashimi wrapped in nori and creamy avocado. (Tasted: February 1, 2023, San Francisco, CA)
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James Suckling
Complex and rich nose of dried apricot, lemon pith, dried pineapple, praline, hazelnut, white cocoa, chalk and nutmeg. Creamy and delicious fruit here, yet it’s mineral and refined with very fine, precise bubbles. Structured, with a sharp, persistent backbone of acidity. Long and very focused. Chardonnay from 40% Chouilly, 33% Cramant, 21% Mesnil-Sur Oger, 7% Avize. 67% vinified in stainless steel tank, 33% in oak barrels.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Disgorged in October 2020 with seven grams per liter dosage, the 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Louis Salmon is showing beautifully, unfurling in the glass with scents of crisp yellow apple and stone fruits mingled with dried white flowers, freshly baked bread, buttery pasty and mandarin oil. Full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it's a textural, racy, penetrating wine endowed with considerable cut and concentration. It's derived from the villages of Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Chouilly, with the latter accounting for some 40% of the blend.
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Wine & Spirits
This is chardonnay from four grand crus of the Côte des Blancs— Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Avize. One-third of the lot fermented and aged in oak casks, without malolactic fermentation, before the entire blend aged on the lees in bottle for eleven years. On release, it has the concentrated flavors of the 2008 vintage, saturated and power-packed with a cool, buzzy acidity. A vinous Champagne to serve with a main course, this brings notes of five spice, ginger and vanillin to the table.
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Decanter
‘Louis Salmon 2008 is made only with grapes sourced in the Côte des Blancs region,’ said Mathieu Roland-Billecart. ‘Forty percent came from Chouilly, 33% percent from Cramant, 7% from Avize, and 20% from the singular terroir of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. We decided about the blend when we tasted the vins clairs, and we included only the best of them in Louis Salmon,’ he said. 2008 is a classic vintage with a late ripening period that produced both quantity and quality in all grapes. ‘Bud-burst took place on 24 April, and flowering started on 15 June. Harvesting was held from 15 September to 8 October,’ said Roland-Billecart. It was bottled in June 2009 and disgorged in October 2020, with a dosage of 7g/L. 100% Chardonnay. With a vibrant yet elegant bouquet of lemon, spring flower aromas, and gently smoky hints, Louis Salmon 2008 possesses a delicate, tense, chiselled and vibrant acid texture that delivers freshness. The final is flinty, chalky, and elegant. It will benefit from four to six years of bottle age.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2008 Champagne Blanc de Blancs Louis Salmon Brut spent 12 years resting on its lees before release, with 7 grams per liter of dosage, and was disgorged in May of 2021. A medium straw with vibrant yellow color, it is a bit reserved initially on opening, but the nose unfolds to a layered and decadent bouquet with lemon curd, custard, green apple, and dusty earth. As it opens, it reveals more spiced notes that resonate on the palate, with graham crust, orange zest, and a bit of smoke. The texture is supple and inviting, with a long and expressive finish. Best after 2022.
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Wine
Oldest continuously family-owned House, Billecart-Salmon was founded in 1818 by the marriage of Nicolas Francois Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon. For over two hundred years, the House has developed a renowned expertise in crafting fine, elegant and balanced Champagnes.
Billecart-Salmon was first and foremost the result a union between Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon who, in 1818 and just married, founded their own Champagne House in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, a small village near Epernay. At their side was Louis Salmon, Elisabeth’s brother and a passionate oenologist who, from the very beginning, dedicated himself to the development of the wines. From then on, their heirs have never stopped aiming for excellence in winemaking. Today led by seventh generation Mathieu Roland-Billecart, each family member has endeavored to pursue the family tradition and stay faithful to the same motto: "give priority to quality, strive for excellence."
Billecart-Salmon rigorously cultivates an estate of 100 hectares, sourcing grapes from an area totaling 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 vineyards of the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs.
As part of the quest to increase the quality of their champagnes, in the 1950s, the House introduced the technique of cold settling combined with the use of stainless steel tanks for a longer fermentation at a lower temperature. Vinification occurs primarily on small thermoregulated tanks which allows the House to vinify parcels separately, preserving nuances of expression of "terroir". Low temperature fermentation slows down the process, encouraging aromas to delicately develop and allow the purity of the fruit to be fully expressed; absolute signature of the Billecart-Salmon style: finesse, elegance and balance.
Over three years of ageing on lees in the chalk cellars for the non-vintage cuvees and over ten year for the prestige vintage cuvees, the family allows their wines to blossom. Giving the luxury of time to play its role is also behind the grandeur of Billecart-Salmon champagnes.
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’