Billecart Salmon Brut Reserve NV Champagne ~ Champagne, France

95/100 Bob Campbell
92/100 Falstaff Magazin
91/100 Wine & Spirits Magazine
91/100 Wine Spectator
91/100 Huon Hooke
91/100 The Wine Front
90/100 Gilbert & Gaillard
90/100 Vinous
90/100 Wine Enthusiast

Matthew Jukes "This small house is one of the finest producers of Champagne, full stop.......I am sure you know by now that I am a besotted Billecart fan......Brut Reserve is one of the most reliable and over-delivering (flavour-wise) wines on the shelves today. It is creamy, smooth, uplifting and guaranteed to brighten your day. You simply cannot go wrong with this spectacular Champagne in your glass. Everyone needs a banker - a wine that will always delight and amaze the drinker - this wine does this and more."

Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Roger Voss "Beautifully understated, this offers fruit that's well integrated with the tight texture, giving a seamless, dry while also fruity wine. Just a hint of bottle maturity adds complexity."

Wine Spectator "A harmonious Champagne that’s satiny in texture, framing flavors of Asian pear, star fruit, pastry and honey with mouthwatering acidity. Offers a fine and creamy finish."

Gilbert & Gaillard "Beautiful light gold. Elegantly fruity, slightly jammy nose. Fleshy, melted, full mouthfeel, delicately infused with fruit. Closely-integrated, long, extremely harmonious. A very successful dry sparkling wine."

Billecart-Salmon is one of the few remaining Champagne houses to be owned by the original family and was established in 1818 by Nicolas-François Billecart. Most of Billecart-Salmon's fruit comes from a small vineyard holding, though this is supplemented with grapes bought in from the Marne Valley and the Montagne de Reims. Meticulous production techniques, from the use of their own cultured yeast to its long, slow, cool fermentation, ensure that the family has 100 percent control of production.

Champagne is the most iconic sparkling wine in the world, produced in the region of Champagne in France. Synonymous with celebration, champagne is typically produced from a few specific varieties of grapes: pinot noir, chardonnay, and pinot meunier. With effervescent flavors of citrus, almond, and apple, champagne comes in varying levels of sweetness and has a moderate amount of alcohol. The most treasured Champagnes age for a minimum of 3 years.

The Champagne region is located 140 kilometres from Paris, France. While the vines in this region have been producing wine since the Roman era, it is only in the past couple of hundred years that winemakers began producing Champagne using méthode champenoise - the complex method that produces the style of Champagne the world knows and loves today. Another important component of the production of champagne is the chalk and limestone soils which dominate the Champagne region. Vines grown in these conditions result in wines that are high in acidity - a key component to making good sparkling wine. Champagne's northerly location - about as north as grapes can ripen - also allow for higher acidity and lower alcohol levels which are also very important for producing quality sparkling wine.