It's been a joy once more to bring forth varying lineups of wine to the tasting table come every Saturday throughout the year - thank you to all who have come along and made them such happy highlights of our week! Now, we come to that time of the year where the baubles are hung, the carols start sneaking through the speakers and corks start escaping more with a twist and a pop rather than through a corkscrew's silver spiral.
This Saturday (14th November) sweeps through the first of our exciting champagne lineups that will run every Saturday until the big day, and Billecart-Salmon is a perfect name to begin such a journey. Between 12 and 2pm (or until bottles run dry), step out of the heat into our air-con, grab a glass, and we'll get the train rolling with their effortlessly delicious Le Réserve - an NV that feels pliant and precise as a result of its low 3g/L dosage, and an impressive 50-month average lees aging period it sees before release (a feat essentially no other entry cuvée out there can claim). The aromatic power and aged-sophistication behind the Brut Sous Bois (2018 base, fermented in oak barrels), Blanc de Blancs NV (2018 base and entirely Grand Cru Chardonnay) and the now scarce bottles of Nicolas Francois 2007 will follow suit nicely, plus their seductively fragrant Le Rosé never ceases to be the major highlight for many whenever Billecart is in the spotlight. For a bit of a treat, we've luckily come across some final available magnums of the Vintage 2009 Extra Brut, which with its nearing two decades of age and low dosage of 2g/L, is looking so generous and complete in this larger vessel.
While the Le Réserve NV will stay down on special indefinitely through the whole Christmas season for whenever the heart desires, the remaining options are down just for the coming week until the next house arrives on the horizon. We can't wait for all the fun that lies ahead!
Le Réserve NV
Ongoing special for $115 ($129 RRP)
// 43% Pinot Meunier, 29% Chardonnay and 28% Pinot Noir
Made up of 29% of current base year 2020 + 71% reserve wines from 15 vintages back to 2006
3g/L dosage (Extra Brut style)
50 month average aging period on lees
"Lovely aromas of raspberries, gingerbread, toast and honey on the nose. I like the generosity and concentration of flavor on the palate, with a medium body and soft, creamy bubbles. Long finish. Delicious now" - 93 Points, Claire Nesbitt, JamesSuckling.com
"The first edition of the former Brut Réserve in its new incarnation, with the greater focus that is such a central part of the Billecart approach these days. Pliant, creamy and seductive, Le Réserve is terrific. Dried pear, hazelnut, spice, orange peel and dried flowers all meld together in an effortless, gracious Champagne that is all class. The significant increase in quality at Billecart-Salmon is no longer news, but it’s still worth mentioning. Quite simply, the Champagnes here have never been better" - 92 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Also available in magnum
On special for $280 ($315 RRP)
Le Rosé NV
On special for $169 ($189 RRP)
// 45% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Meunier
2021 base vintage
Aged on lees for 36 months before disgorgement in mid-2024
4.9g/L dosage
"Billecart-Salmon has long been at the forefront of the rosé champagne field, their supremely elegant and gloriously fragrant style counting its fans in legions. A beautifully bright rose gold in the glass. Dried strawberries, fading pink petals, ginger and raspberry danish notes. Softy curvy, graceful and elegant through a gently zippy finish. Pink perfection." - 95 Points, Nick Ryan, Weekend Australian 2024
"With its ubiquitous pink label, Billecart's NV Brut Rosé is one of the most recognizable bottles in all of Champagne. It is so important for wines like this to be good, as they are symbols for the region. This release is especially fine. Cranberry, pink grapefruit and white flowers caress the palate. Deep, pliant and so expressive, the Brut Rosé is terrific. There is a touch of angularity, but that is easy to look past for a Champagne that delivers so much pleasure." - 92 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Brut Sous Bois NV
On special for $169 ($189 RRP)
// 38% Grand Cru Chardonnay, 33% Premier & Grand Cru Pinot Noir and 29% Pinot Meunier
2018 base vintage (63%), with 37% reserve wines dating back to 2006
Aged for 5 years on lees before disgorgement June 2024
3g/L dosage
"The NV Extra Brut Sous Bois (base 2018) is a major step up from the 2017. Then again, this vintage was much more favorable. Aromatic, bright and sculpted, the 2018 is so complete. Silky contours and well-judged oak give the 2018 a great deal of finesse to compliment dried orchard fruit and floral nuances. Powerful and ample in the glass, with tons of structure, the 2018 dazzles with its mix of orchard fruit character and French oak inflections. Dried flowers, chamomile, mint and dried lemon peel all build through to the finish." - 95 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
"A copper straw color, entirely barrel-fermented in cask, it reveals notes of smoky wet stones, toasted croissant, orange citrus, baked peach, almond, frangipane, and salty earth. Full-bodied yet savory, it offers a mouthwatering and brothy character while remaining fresh and youthful, without transitioning into oxidation. It’s very appealing now but should have no problem showing its best over the coming 10 years." - 92 Points, Jeb Dunnuck
Le Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV
On special for $175 ($195 RRP)
// 100% Grand Cru Chardonnay (Avize, Chouilly, Cramant and Mesnil-sur-Oger)
2018 base vintage (63%), with reserve wines from 2017 and 2016 (36%)
Aged on lees for 5 years before disgorgement mid-2024
3.9g/L dosage
"Light yellow, bright colour; Smoky, toasted-bread, cashewnut, snuffed candle and aldehyde aromas, the palate very dry and crisp, with appealing texture including a gentle grip. Richness of fruit comes chiming in towards the back-palate and there's a tickle of sweetness assisting. Complex tirage-aged characters linger and build towards the finish, which rolls on very long and dry, leaving an appetising aftertaste." - 96 Points, Huon Hooke, The Real Review
"There's a gravity to this wine — a weight that presses down and leaves a mark. Saline, lightly autolytic, bone dry, with rocks, lemon rind, pastry and rye bread running through it. Honey flickers on the nose; on the palate, a flash of caramel, so cold it feels brittle, almost stony. This is a genuinely excellent sparkling wine. It carries breadth and heft, but more than that, it carries a kind of authority — it doesn't ask to be liked so much as respected." - 95 Points, Campbell Mattinson
Cuvée Nicolas Francois 2007
On special for $350($399 RRP)
(Very limited availability)
// 60% Pinot Noir (Montagne de Reims & Grande Vallée de la Marne), and 40% Chardonnay (Côte des Blancs)
Aged on lees for 12 years before disgorgement in July 2020
Dosage 6g/L
"The 2007 Brut Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart is positively stellar. Elegant, polished and sophisticated, the 2007 dazzles with effusive aromatics and gorgeous balance. It's not an obvious wine, though, but rather a Champagne built for long, patient cellaring. The 2007 is 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay taken from Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Ambonnay, Verzenay and Verzy for the Pinots and Chouilly, Avize, Cramant and Mesnil for the Chardonnays. In other words, as good as it gets for villages." - 97 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous
"The 2007 Brut Cuvée Nicolas François is showing very nicely, offering up aromas of fresh bread, citrus oil, crisp yellow orchard fruit, white flowers, verbena, macadamia nut and hints of biscuity complexity to come. Full-bodied, chiseled but fleshy, its vinous core of fruit cloaks the vintage's brisk acids to achieve real plenitude in a year that's sometimes rather tautly austere. Long and penetrating and complemented by a pretty pinpoint mousse, this is a real success." - 97 Points, William Kelley, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Vintage 2009 Extra Brut MAGNUM 1500ml
On special for $415 ($465 RRP)
(Very limited availability)
// 40% Pinot Noir, 33% Chardonnay and 27% Pinot Meunier
Aged on lees for 9 years before disgorgement
2g/L dosage
"The low dosage of 2g/l and the warm vintage allow the fruit-based flavours free rein - white peach, Granny Smith apple and nectarine. The finish and aftertaste remain fresh and long. A house in grand form." - 96 Points, James Halliday
"Disgorged with two grams per liter dosage, Billecart-Salmon's 2009 Extra Brut Vintage is more giving and demonstrative than its 2008 counterpart, offering up inviting aromas of crisp stone fruit, yellow apple, brioche, honeycomb and warm pastry. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with a pillowy mousse and a generous core of fruit girdled by bright acids, it's seamless and complete. Indeed, such is its charm and persistence that I tend to prefer it, at least for now, to the 2008." - 94 Points, William Kelley, Robert Parker Wine Advocate
If you wish to purchase any of these champagnes, please use the links above
If you have any questions, please contact us on (07)32521117 or email sales@thewineemporium.com.au
// Special prices (except for Le Réserve) valid until
Monday the 16th of November