“This is clearly one of my favorite rosé Champagnes out there” -  JS

Billecart-Salmon Brut RoseI completely agree with the above statement, as it’s been one of my favorites from the beginning. Billecart-Salmon is a relatively small Champagne house so it tends to fly under the radar. However, their Rose does have a cult following with wine aficionados & sommeliers. Their house style is more about freshness & elegance as opposed to a richer, fuller style.

Billecart-Salmon was founded in 1818 when Nicolas Francois Billecart married Elisabeth Salmon. Nicolas, at the time was practicing law, but afterwards he decided to take over the family wine estate & thus Billecart-Salmon was born. It now stands as the oldest continuously family owned and operated house in Champagne, & is currently being run by the 7th generation, brothers Francois and Antoine Roland-Billecart.

As I stated above, they’re known for having a more elegant, fresher style Champagne & a lot of that has to do with when they harvest. They believe an early harvest yields a more delicate & elegant Champagne. It’s more about the acid than the alcohol, & they never harvest at higher than 10 degrees of potential alcohol. Another thing that sets them apart from the other Champagne houses is their practice of double cold setting. They pioneered this method in 1952 & to this day are the only Champagne house to do this to all the wines.

When I first started in the wine business, this Champagne was never easy to come by, so I’d always scoop up as much as I could when we’d get a little bit into stock. Recently we’ve gained more access to their wines, so needless to say I was very excited when we checked in a nice drop of their 95 point Rose. This past weekend with the temps a little warmer, I thought it’d be a great time to break out a bottle for Sunday brunch.

As soon as you pour it in the glass, the first thing you notice is the light pink color, & it really does look fresh. On the palate is a clean, crisp, elegant, delicious & extremely well balanced Champagne. It dances on the palate in a light, refreshing style with subtle Pinot Noir characteristics. I could go on & on, but for me it’s hard to imagine a better Champagne at this price-point.

Do yourself a favor & grab a case or two while it’s still around. It’s perfect to have on hand to serve before dinner, or for brunch or just leisurely sipping by the pool. It’s so versatile & trust me, it’s sure to be a crowd pleaser!