Billecart Salmon Brut Rosé NV Champagne ~ Champagne, France

96/100 Gilbert & Gaillard
95/100 Huon Hooke
95/100 Bob Campbell 95/100 James Suckling
93/100 Wine Spectator
93/100 Falstaff Magazin
92/100 Stephen Tanzer
91/100 Wine Enthusiast
Le Guide Hachette des Vins, 2009: 1 Star
Le Guide Hachette des Vins, 2005: 2 Stars Coup de coeur
Le Guide Hachette des Vins, 2004: 1 Star

James Suckling "one of my favorite rosé Champagnes out there. I love the freshness and clarity in the wine, from its light pink color to crisp acidity and minerally, chalky character on the finish. It's full-bodied and dense yet agile with amazing length and beauty. Refreshing and vibrant. As it warms, it gives you delicate pinot noir character like Aloxe-Corton or another excellent appellation."

Gilbert & Gaillard "Beautiful salmon-pink hue. Extremely pure nose blending ripe red fruit and notes of blood orange. Simultaneously mouth-filling and ethereal. Long-lasting freshness enhances clearly-delineated aromas. Superbly classic style suitable for any occasion."

Richard Hemming "Lovely stately strawberry fruit, baked apples, brioche and spice. Invigorating acidity, beautifully soft fizz, very gentle and elegant persistence. "

Wine Advocate "The NV Brut Rose is a pretty, gracious wine. Freshly cut roses, red berries and spices take shape nicely in the glass as the wine shows off its understated, timeless personality. Billecart-Salmon’s NV Brut Rose is a reliably tasty 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.