Wine Advisor
Billecart Salmon, Cuvee Nicolas Francois Billecart Millesime 1998
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 1998 Cuvee Nicolas Francois Billecart (60% Pinot, 40% Chardonnay) is another beautiful wine. The aromas are especially captivating and highly suggestive of Pinot, but the Chardonnay seems to take center stage on the palate, where the fruit is highly expressive. Like the Blanc de Blancs, the wine saw 50% malolactic fermentation and only 5% of the wine was aged in oak as the estate was in its early days of using oak and wisely chose a moderate approach. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2018. Billecart-Salmon, based in Mareuil-sur-Ay, makes wines in a style that is all about timeless elegance. These Champagnes are characterized by their supreme balance. All of the 2008 vins claires I tasted showed remarkable harmony and transparency of site. Much of the aromatic complexity of the wines can be attributed to a preference towards cold temperatures in fermentation, which keeps the wines fresh. The domaine uses Burgundian oak barrels for a portion of the wines. The exact amount of batonnage and malolactic fermentation depend on the vintage. Prior to being bottled the wines are blended in a large steel tank to insure consistency, something the estate takes very seriously. In general the non-vintage wines receive 7-9 grams of dosage, while the vintage wines have 5-7 grams, depending on the year. Among current releases, I found the 1998s to be brilliant, while the 2000s, from a much more challenging growing season, come across as less refined. The estate does not disclose disgorgement dates, but a code on the foil wrapping can be traced back to a date. Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 332-4999
Reviewed by: William Kelley
Disgorged in 2009, the 1998 Brut Cuvée Nicolas François is arriving at full maturity, wafting from the glass with aromas of mandarin oil, warm biscuits, dried fruits and spices. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, elegantly creamy and enveloping, with a textural but incisive profile, lively acids and a long, sapid finish.
About the Producer
Founded by Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon in 1818, Billecart-Salmon is one of the few Champagne houses to be owned and managed by the original family. Today, François and Antoine Roland-Billecart continue the family legend, hand-crafting delicate and elegant wines with crystal-clear fidelity, using a technique of cool long fermentation pioneered by the house in 1952. All of the base wines go through a cold settling at 8℃ and a very cold fermentation just under 13℃ that takes between three weeks and a month, which is a longer time frame than other producers. This practice was initiated in 1958, making Billecart-Salmon the first and the only Champagne house to do so at present. One of the highlights of the house is the cuvée created as a tribute to the house’s founders. The Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart is generous, fine and rich, sourced exclusively from the grands crus of Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims.
