Billecart Salmon - Champagne Brut Reserve

TAST­ING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

This cuvée is a fine, del­i­cate blend of Pinot Noir, Chardon­nay, and Pinot Meu­nier grapes from three dif­fer­ent har­vest years in Cham­pagne, France. It pours out in a beau­ti­ful straw gold col­or, with slow-ris­ing bub­bles and a plen­ti­ful mousse. It strad­dles a mature strength and light flo­ral qual­i­ty in its aro­ma, result­ing in notes of ripe pears and oth­er crisp, fresh fruit. Its full fla­vor and rich bou­quet are a tes­ta­ment to the care­ful aging process in the cel­lars of Bil­le­cart Salmon. 

PAIR­INGS

Brut Cham­pagnes are gen­er­al­ly con­sid­ered ver­sa­tile wines for meal­time, not just for spe­cial occa­sions. They’re as per­fect for caviar nights as they are for scram­bled egg break­fasts, but­ter-drenched seafoods, and even plain, salt­ed pop­corn. The high acid­i­ty and car­bon­a­tion work in deli­cious har­mo­ny with fats and oils. While the dry­ness of Bruts does not typ­i­cal­ly make them gen­er­al dessert drinks, their acid­i­ty pairs sur­pris­ing­ly well with short­bread cook­ies. Of course, to expe­ri­ence your Cham­pagne to the fullest, switch out your flute for a white wine glass or a classy Gats­by-esque coupe!

TWO KILO­ME­TERS OF SILENCE

The prop­er­ty of Bil­le­cart Salmon has been around since the 17^th cen­tu­ry and was updat­ed in the 19^th. Through all this time, the two kilo­me­ters of chalk-lined cel­lars have sur­vived to become a per­ma­nent part of the House’s aging process. Non-vin­tage wines spend three to four years in those cel­lars, twice as long as the fixed reg­u­la­tions of the appel­la­tion. Vin­tage cuvées mature over the course of 10 years, allow­ing the patient crawl of time and silence to play a role in the cre­ation of their Champagnes.

Storage Instructions

Fine sparkling wine must be han­dled with care. For short-term stor­age (a few days to a month), you can keep your bot­tle upright — but away from bright or arti­fi­cial light. For long-term stor­age, espe­cial­ly for vin­tage cuvées, you must store the bot­tles on their side in a wine rack or cel­lar to keep the cork from dry­ing out. The ide­al tem­per­a­ture for stor­age is between 7 to 10°C. Once opened, a bot­tle will be good for 1 to 3 days stand­ing upright in the refrigerator.