Billecart-Salmon - Cuvée Louis Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne 2008 (750ml)

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Price: $231.99

Producer	Billecart-Salmon
Country	France
Region	Champagne
Varietal	Chardonnay
Vintage	2008
Sku	100970
Size	750ml
ABV	13.00%

Billecart-Salmon Description

ELITE

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).

Critical Acclaim

JS96
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. Disgorged October 2020. 7g/l dosage.

RP96
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.

D94
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.