Francois Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon founded their Champagne house in 1818. They were given a parcel of land, near the village of Mareuil-sur-Ay as a wedding gift by Elisabeth’s family. The house is now run by seventh generation brothers Francois and Antoine, but their father, and Francois’ son are also involved in the business making three generations working together.
The house is extremely well-regarded, producing 1.7 million bottles annually from its 14 ha of estate fruit supplemented by fruit purchased from another 300 ha, a high proportion of which are under the company’s management. The winemaker comes under the care of the highly experienced Francois Domi, who has guided the house’s path to quality. The top cuvees include the ‘Cuvee Elisabeth Brut Rosé’, the ‘Cuvee Nicolas Francois Brut’ and single vineyard Pinot Noir-only ‘Le Clos Saint Hilaire Brut’. In celebration of 200 years of winemaking, I review Billecart-Salmon’s best known wine, the Brut Rosé NV. The bottle tasted here is a 375 ml size, and the wine may be a little more forward than a 750 ml bottling. www.champagne-billecart.fr The wine is distributed in New Zealand by Dhall & Nash www.dnfinewine.com
