Nick Jackson, MW | July 17, 2025
Champagne Billecart-Salmon is one among a number of the smaller grandes marques which has really upped its game in recent years. The most important change at the house is the new non-vintage wine, Le Réserve. This is now a much more complex, subtle wine than the Brut Réserve it replaces, thanks to the much greater proportion of older wines in the blend. The current bottling, for example, contains 50% reserve wines from 15 different vintages. It is rare to achieve this complexity at this price point.
The new Le Rosé retains its place among the classics of the genre; this is a supple, mouthfilling style of great pedigree. The Elisabeth is a very superior rosé, and a wine strangely overlooked among the conversations about the best vintage rosés; and from the glorious 2012 vintage, this is heady and rich, yet pure.
Also from 2012, the Louis Salmon is a Blanc de Blancs from a handful of Grand Cru sites in the Côte des Blancs, and with its almost ten years ageing on the lees and low dosage (4g/l), displays great freshness and mineral complexity. Finally, one of my favourite prestige cuvées completes the lineup: Nicolas François, a wine whose splendid Pinot fruit always shines. Enjoy the 2012 now or over the next two decades.
