Soirée Française at Atelier
Take a trip down sensory lane and join us for French-fueled gastronomic evening, with a wine-matched five course meal at Atelier K Road.
For one evening only, Atelier have devised a deliciously diverse dégustation that will transport you to a European wonderland, paired with six Dhall & Nash French favourites, from the vineyards of Burgundy, Champagne, Alsace and the Loire Valley. Hosted by the energetically enigmatic Jean-Jacques Bourvis, it's a night, not to be missed.
$140 per person. Visit Atelier to reserve a spot at Soirée Française today.
Champagne Billecart-Salmon
Dhall & Nash Wondermaker
Champagne Billecart-Salmon
The Art of Fine Champagne
“Billecart-Salmon is in the very top echelon of Champagne houses – it is one of only four awarded the 10/10 rating”
Tyson Stelzer, Acclaimed Champagne Specialist
Champagne. How much magic is in this word – the ultimate luxury libation – the supernova of sparkling wines? Not all champagne is created equal – if you get our drift!
Perhaps we too readily acquiesce to having a glass of the mass produced champagnes of the world like the Moëts, the Veuves, the Mumms… STOP! We dare you to be different this holiday season.
For many years now, Dhall & Nash has been incredibly fortunate and honoured to represent the best of the little guy Champagne Houses, the esteemed Billecart-Salmon. They are Prestigious with a capital P!
So, it’s about time we proselytised to the last few unconverted about the hedonistic, artfully executed, stunningly textured Billecart-Salmon range of superb champagnes. Are you ready to take it up a few notches for your summer festivities and beyond?
And if reviews are your thing, go take a look at the effusive praise Billecart-Salmon receives then try to keep your jaw from hitting the ground when you find some flirting with the ever-elusive triple-digit score. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely, positively, 100%.
“The mark of Billecart is made not by the heavy footfall of concentration, power and presence, but rather the fairy touch of delicacy and crystal-clear fidelity.”
Tyson Stelzer, Acclaimed Champagne Specialist
A Champagne House with Finesse
The History of Billecart-Salmon
Situated in the Champagne heartland of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, near Epernay, Billecart-Salmon has been under family ownership and management since its founding in 1818. It is a family-run winery with a majority share owned by the Billecart family and a minority holding is held by the Frey group, itself a family-owned business – they are owners of Château La Lagune in Bordeaux, Paul Jaboulet Ainé in the Rhône, and Château Corton C in Burgundy.
The Billecart family still lives on site and there remains a strong sense of long-visioned family continuity at play. Today there’s the seventh generation Mathieu Roland-Billecart overseeing everyday business as CEO, working closely with Antoine and François.
“If there is a bartender favourite it is perhaps Billecart Salmon – not just because it’s fine fizz but because it’s a medium-sized house still under family control.”
Drinks International
During the 17th century, Pierre Billecart, an esteemed winemaker of the era, and ancestor of Nicolas François Billecart, was summoned by King Louis XIII who authorised him to create his own coat of arms. Thus, when the Champagne House of Billecart-Salmon was born in 1818 from the marriage of Nicolas-François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon, his descendants proudly reinstated them. Appropriately a royal seal of approval as the foundation for the new champagne House. And remarkably, both sides of each family can trace their roots back to the village of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ as far back as the 16th century.
It was Elizabeth’s brother, Louis Salmon, who took charge of the oenological side of the business, while Nicolas François, a lawyer by training, developed the commercial side.
Billecart-Salmon prospered throughout the 19th century until the intervention of the First World War in 1914. By the end of the war, the 100-year-old house was down to just 75,000 bottles remaining in the cellars. However, the company got through relatively unscathed and Charles Roland-Billecart managed to restore sales to around 217,000 bottles by 1936.
Always conscious of improving the quality of their champagne, in 1958 they developed a winemaking method that was revolutionary for the time (Geek Talk on this later). This new technique meant that over time, the wines conserve their crystalline freshness, and the aromas intensify, allowing Billecart-Salmon champagnes to deliver all they promise.
In 1964, as a tribute to founder Nicolas François, the house launched the first vintage of the eponymous Cuvée Nicolas François. In 1999, the Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart Vintage 1959 was chosen “Champagne of the Millennium” by a committee of experts at a blind tasting session involving 150 vintages from the most illustrious champagne producers, organised in Stockholm by Richard Juhlin, a great champagne specialist. Amazingly, the 1961 vintage of Cuvée Nicolas François, came second. Double Wow!
Even if two centuries have passed since the creation of Billecart-Salmon champagnes, its motto remains unchanged: ‘‘Give priority to quality, strive for excellence”
Billecart-Salmon
Ever the trend-setters, in 1970, Jean Roland-Billecart, the then company president, decided to develop a rosé Champagne at a time when this type of Champagne was not considered high quality. This move changed the face of champagne forever.
Today, the Billecart-Salmon non-vintage rosé is the gold standard for every champagne house making rosé.
“Billecart [] has a particularly and deservedly high reputation for its Brut Rosé”
Jancis Robinson MW
By the early 1990s, the house repositioned itself as a premium brand, focusing on high end restaurants and exclusive retailers. In keeping with this revitalisation, in 1995, the house decided to isolate one-hectare of its most valued vineyard to be vinified separately. This became the first vintage of Clos St-Hilaire, a 100% Pinot Noir Blanc de Noirs vinified directly on site (very rare in Champagne) and aged in barrels.
Billecart-Salmon’s Le Clos Saint-Hilaire is “the King of Blanc de Noirs, [] a towering masterpiece of profound mineral clarity and unfathomable complexity.”
Tyson Stelzer, Champagne Specialist
Style and Uniqueness
The Continuing Quest for Excellence
In 1996, François Roland-Billecart decided to re-introduce oak as a major component in the making of their wine. This widened the range of available aromas for blending by the Chief Winemaker. As for all the techniques used by the House, the oak casks, and more recently large oak barrels, have been selected with great care by the Vineyard Master. The vinification in steel tanks combined with that in oak casks enhance the wines of the House. As always, the goal at Billecart, is to encourage subtle refined complexity rather than any overt oak character.
Another unique factor lies at the root of the specific Billecart-Salmon style: time. Unlike the legal minimum required for Champagne wines – 15 months for non-vintage wines and 36 months for vintage wines – Billecart-Salmon bottles are laid down for a minimum of between 3 and 10 years in its chalk cellars before they are judged ready for tasting and release.
Billecart-Salmon is discreetly but significantly continuing to evolve. With the new millennium came the construction of a new cuverie, enabling better control of individual parcels in small temperature controlled tanks. This was followed in 2010 by the addition of a new Chai housing 400 small and two large oak foudres. Since 2018 another cellar is home to oak foudres retaining some 80,000 litres of reserve wine.
Meanwhile, Billecart’s wines are spending longer and longer sur lees, and fruit sourcing is changing—with more grand cru fruit replacing premier cru fruit—while volumes remain the same. Based on the trials underway in their emblematic Clos Saint-Hilaire, the next frontier will be the vineyards.
Billecart-Salmon “…is going from strength to strength.”
William Kelley, Robert Parker’s The Wine Advocate
Billecart-Salmon And Gastronomy: An Alliance of Taste
Billecart-Salmon has built its reputation partly through its association with fine dining and haute cuisine. The House owes this to François Roland-Billecart, who, as a watchful observer, understood in the early 1990s, that champagne had ceased to be merely a wine and had become the signature of an image. Thus, the only future imaginable for a small house like Billecart-Salmon was to encompass wine experiences of the highest quality. From that point on, with the help of Alexandre Bader, the current Managing Director, Billecart-Salmon pivoted towards a defining relationship with haute cuisine becoming the champagne served in all 27 Michelin-starred restaurants in France. What a coup!
“It’s easy to work for a company that is searching for quality as the goal across the whole process. The best grapes on the best terroirs are expensive, but this is our priority.”
François Domi, Retired Chef de Cave
Hands-on In the Vineyards
Grapes from the Best Crus in Champagne
The excellence of Billecart-Salmon champagnes rests, above all, on the knowledge of those who rigorously select grapes from vineyards of more than 300 hectares, of which about 100 hectares belong to the House and its shareholders, divided between 40 different Champagne crus. The House also manages under lease arrangement, 80 hectares of grand cru fruit, taking full control from pruning to harvest. Overall, Billecart-Salmon has 52% Grand Cru fruit, 16% Premier Cru.
Fortunately, most grapes used for winemaking come from a radius of 20km around Epernay, where the great wines of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier from the Montagne de Reims, Côte des Blancs and the Vallée de la Marne are to be found.
Billecart-Salmon is certified « High Environmental Value » and in 2017, was awarded the «Sustainable Viticulture in Champagne» certification for its winemaking
Billecart-Salmon’s trials with biodynamics and permaculture were begun in the Clos St Hilaire plot. CEO Mathieu Roland-Billecart describes the one-hectare parcel as his research and development facility. It is here, in a controlled, manageable environment where the estate seeks not only to better its understanding of soil and climate but also to trial new practices and establish advancements in viticulture. He describes the current viticulture as “organic plus”. There is ploughing by horses, sheep graze the grass, and there are bees. Though a large percentage of the house’s vineyards are farmed organically, the estate is not organic in its entirety.
Mathieu says he sees great hope for permaculture, but a lot depends on the size of the parcel. In Champagne, the average size is 0.13 hectares, so this can be a problem. ‘We don’t believe in the one size fits all approach,’ he says. ‘It is parcel by parcel: some vineyards are more capable of dealing with organics than others.’ They no longer use herbicides, and whether or not they plough depends on the plot.
‘Billecart-Salmon are deeply committed to the preservation of the link between man and nature’
Billecart-Salmon Website
The Billecart-Salmon Philosophy
The House’s philosophy is simple: respect the terroir in order to produce great wines.
Mathieu Roland-Billecart, explains: “Billecart-Salmon experiments all the time, whether it’s in the vineyard or in our vinification process. What that means is that we try new things to further improve the quality wherever we can. The vast amount of these experiments you never see. Because if they are successful, and very often they are, they end up being kept in our reserve wine catalogue, so they help us to further improve the quality of our wines, which in time means that they improve the quality of our non-vintage Champagnes, whether that is Brut Réserve, Brut Sous Bois, Brut Rosé, etc.”
Billecart-Salmon’s Commitment to Sustainable Viticulture
In its constant quest for excellence, Billecart-Salmon favours cultivation methods that aim to protect the environment and promote biodiversity. Committed to preserving the cycle between winemaker and nature, the House has long been convinced that such a course of action is essential in the pursuit of environmental sustainability.
Long before being certified High Environmental Value (HVE) and Sustainable Viticulture in Champagne (VDC) in 2017, Maison Billecart-Salmon was already focused on managing its vineyards with the utmost respect for the environment. Beyond a simple approach, it’s a long-term state of mind that calls for constant self-assessment and continuous progress.
VDC
Sustainable Viticulture in Champagne. A fervent advocate of this ecological approach, Maison Billecart-Salmon is raising awareness among partner winegrowers about the importance of the certification through its certification collective. In 2021, 75% of its supplies are VDC certified.
HVE
This is environmental certification at the highest level with 4 indicators considered: biodiversity, fertilization, phytosanitary protection, and water management.
Vinification – Meticulous Work
‘When modernity and authenticity unite in the best way’
Billecart-Salmon Website
As part of the ever present quest to maintain the quality of their champagnes, in the fifties, Billecart-Salmon developed the most revolutionary technique of double debourbage.
Essentially, after the standard clarification process to settle out solids, the juice is settled a second time at 4degrees Celsius for a minimum of 48 hours. The house pioneered this system. Inspired by the maternal grandfather’s experience brewing beer no less!
What happens is this – at this temperature, the coarser lees are removed without risk of oxidation, delivering pristine juice perfect for fermentation. The process is expensive and time-consuming. Fellow vignerons thought they were crazy.
The juice is then brought up to just 13 degrees C for the primary fermentation. All 100 tanks are individually temperature controlled. At this temperature, cultured yeasts from the natural yeasts of nearby villages take 3-4 weeks to complete fermentation. Such long cool ferments are crucial for retaining greater freshness and delicacy than a standard champagne ferment of one week at 20°C.
The cuverie (winery building) concentrates primarily on small thermoregulated cuvees (47 hectolitres) which allows the House to observe the traceability of the grape varieties and the individual parcels. This vinification is carried out cru by cru and grape variety by grape variety which permits the conservation of the nuances of expression of the terroir. In vinifying at a low temperature, the fermentation process slows down, encouraging ethereal aromas, which are delicate and allow all the purity of the fruit to be expressed. It is the absolute signature of the Billecart-Salmon style.
“Overall, they [Billecart-Salmon] are rather subtle and low key. They say that while most other houses aim for: a fizziness quotient of about seven atmospheres, they deliberately aim for six.”
Jancis Robinson, MW
This is also one of the few champagne houses where some of the top wines are still hand-riddled. But, Mathieu Roland-Billecart insists, there are no rules. Neither for cork v crown cap, malo, nor dosage. Decisions are taken on a wine by wine basis. Though they are very keen on the quality of the liqueur d’expedition, added to top up the wine after disgorgement. So, for a final nuance: every cuvee has a different liqueur at Billecart. Chef de Cave, Florent Nye conducts many tastings with different dosages, from wines aged in barrel and those in tank, to determine which best suits each wine. “The wine is in a constant state of evolution” explains Antoine Roland-Billecart.
Low dosage is also a Billecart signature – over the past decade decreasing the dosage has been crucial in allowing the fruit to show its full character. Antoine says, “It’s like make-up, you don’t need it if there is no problem, and you want to show the real character of the wines”.
Billecart-Salmon has chalk cellars dating from the 17th and 19th centuries meandering for kilometres beneath the cuverie standing guard over the House’s precious cargo. Over time, the wines assert themselves and the aromas develop, imprinted with all the finesse, balance and elegance which are characteristic of the personality of the House’s champagnes.
Billecart-Salmon is famously slow to release wines – with over three to four years in cellars the non-vintage champagnes really blossom, staying around twice as long as the fixed regulations of the appellation. The vintage cuvées patiently wait ten years before they begin to reveal their maturity. Allowing time to play its role is behind the grandeur of all Billecart-Salmon champagnes.
An Instinct for Wine
At Billecart-Salmon, instinct alone inspires wine. It is an instinct transmitted from generation to generation that is to be found in abundance in the House tasting committee. Bringing together three generations of the family as well as the head winemakers, the committee comprises: Jean, François, Antoine and Mathieu Roland-Billecart and Florent Nys, Denis Blée and François Domi. Together, they decide on the selection of wines, blends, and dosages to be made. Step by step, the committee tastes, informs and adjusts each wine, satisfied only when they are all in agreement. Whether they are leaders, cellar masters, oenologists, or winemakers, they all share a passion for wine and are careful to preserve the certain style that is Billecart-Salmon. Altogether ensuring the calibre and legacy of this unique Champagne House continues.
The Artful Billecart-Salmon Champagnes
The 200-year old Billecart Salmon Champagne house has never failed to impress wine drinkers and critics – thanks to consistent innovations in winemaking, commitment to quality and the impressive line-up of cuvees!
When wine critic Tyson Stelzer asked Antoine Roland-Billecart how they maintain such transcendental standards in every one of their cuvées, his refreshingly honest reply was: “We are not focused on marketing. Vinification is the key for us, and all the rest is bullshit!” Say no more.
Although the Billecart-Salmon portfolio is vast, they are best known for their prestige founders’ cuvées, Cuvée Nicolas-François, Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Rosé, and Cuvée Louis Salmon. The ultimate jewel of the estate, however, is the single-vineyard champagne Clos Saint Hilaire: a monstrously powerful Blanc de noir cuvée.
Over the decades, there have been so many glowing reviews with stratospheric scores making them impossible to list here, however, some salient descriptors will give you an inkling of their Best-in-Show status:
“An ethereal champagne”, “richness plus transparency”, “brimming with light”, “very pure, very fresh, very zesty”, “refreshing balance”, “high-toned”, “racy & lively”, “a peacock’s tail finish”, “very confident”, “transparent & delicate”, “very flirtatious”, “polished texture”, “an elixir”, “firm & quite structured”, “elegance & expressive fruit”, “a study in subtlety”, “beautifully chiselled finesse”, “perfect & complex maturity”, “persistent & fascinating effervescence”, “mouth-filling concentration”, “Full-bodied yet agile, “pillowy & layered” and many more.
“I tasted 18 current non-vintage cuvées of the most famous champagne houses last week blind – a rare treat – and Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve was the most impressive for me.”
Jancis Robinson MW
Which Billecart-Salmon bottles should you not miss out on for Christmas and for 2023?
Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon 2009
Depth and Complexity
Copper-orange color with aromas of grapefruit pith, cherry stones, dried roses, white pepper, pastries, walnuts, and oyster shells. Refined and elegant with pretty, dried red and citrus fruit, layered with subtle spice and toast. Fine bubbles. Dry. 55% pinot noir from Mareuil-sur-Ay and Ay, and 45% Grand Cru chardonnay from Cote des Blancs, with 10% of pinot noir red wine. Dosage 7g/L. Disgorged in July 2021. Drink or hold.
96 points – James Suckling
Billecart-Salmon 2013 Vintage
Intense and Seductive
A vibrant Champagne, finely balanced and lacy in texture, serving as an elegant canvas for layered flavours of yellow peach, chopped almond, cherry, toast point and preserved lemon. Minerally smoke, chalk and spice notes play on the finish. Disgorged November 2021. Drink now through 2030.
94 points – Wine Spectator
“This is one of those champagnes that is really joyful, happy, and upbeat, with real vivaciousness yet quite a bit of serious undertow too.”
Jancis Robinson MW on Billecart-Salmon Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs NV
Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru NV
Delicacy & Elegance
Produced from the grapes of five grand cru vineyards of the Côte des Blancs: Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger, this beautiful Champagne is crisp and mineral, with a great texture and acidity. It has elegance and style as well. It is a finely balanced wine that is ready to drink.
93 points – Wine Enthusiast
Based on the 2015 vintage and dominated this year by Mesnil sur Oger, Billecart’s NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru was disgorged in July 2021 with seven grams per liter dosage. Exhibiting aromas of citrus oil, tart stone fruit, freshly baked bread, and white flowers, it’s medium to full-bodied, pillowy, and layered, its sweet core of fruit framed by racy acids and chalky structure.
93 points – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate
Billecart-Salmon Brut Sous Bois NV
Captivating & Original
This could almost be considered the little brother of the Clos St Hilaire: along with that wine this is 100% barrel-fermented and these are the only ones in the range that are. With one-third each of the three main grape varieties and the malolactic fermentation is blocked, it’s a truly fascinating wine. “It sings with Billecart precision, while basking in the richness of barrel fermentation, silky and alluring, confronting, and commanding, all at once. Don’t serve it too cold and give it lots of air in a large glass” extols champagne specialist Tyson Stelzer.
Taut and vivid with bright cherry fruit, some lively citrus, and a touch of spice. Pristine with lovely intensity and a nice savouriness, finishing bright and complex, with lovely tension on the finish. A gastronomic Champagne.
94 points – Dr Jamie Goode, Wine Anorak
The Billecart-Salmon Sous Bois is one of the best non-vintage Bruts in the marketplace. This Champagne is rich and racy. Its lively aromas and flavors of mineral notes and bright stone fruits should pair superbly with oven-roast chicken over a mix of arugula and kale.
95 points – Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
Billecart-Salmon Brut Nature
Pure & Refined
A dense, layered Champagne with a full body and lots of creamy texture. Lovely, cooked apple and pie crust. 40% Pinot Meunier, 30% chardonnay and 30% pinot noir. The base was 2015, but in total it contains 10 harvests. It was bottled at the beginning of 2016 and disgorged in March 2020. Four years on lees. Fantastic release.
94 points – James Suckling
The Billecart-Salmon Brut Nature Champagne is at once rewarding and teeth-biting, as well as delicious and lasting. This wine brings a streak of minerality to the fore with its aromas and flavors. Enjoy its tantalizing stone fruit flavors and generous palate-feel with tuna tartare and a squeeze of Meyer lemon.
93 points – Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The holiday season will be on us before we know it. With the continued global demand for Champagne, the time to stock up is now. AND – DON’T FORGET – Dhall & Nash has LARGE FORMAT STOCK available!!! Grab these titanic Champagne masterpieces and get ready to captivate a room with each pull of the cork!
Billecart-Salmon - Vintage Champagne Releases
Arriving soon to our shores, not one, not two, but THREE Billecart-Salmon Vintage Champagnes – this is a circle-the-calendar event for every fine wine lover.
“Billecart-Salmon is in the very top echelon of Champagne houses – it is one of only four awarded the 10/10 rating”
Tyson Stelzer, Acclaimed Champagne Specialist
Champagne. How much magic is in this word? Then there’s Vintage Champagne – the ultimate luxury libation – the supernova of sparkling wines. Now there’s distinct wizardry at work! Add to that, the international supply chain having its Covid-accelerated meltdown, and we knew this was never going to be as easy as pulling a rabbit out of a top hat. Yet the planets have aligned, and Dhall & Nash is elated to offer as part of a global release these absurdly divine vintage champagnes from the prestigious Champagne House Billecart-Salmon.
“The mark of Billecart is made not by the heavy footfall of concentration, power and presence, but rather the fairy touch of delicacy and crystal-clear fidelity.” – Tyson Stelzer, Acclaimed Champagne Specialist & Wine Critic
Clearly, the mystique of these vintage champagnes has reached far and wide – this is blue-chip buying! Vineyards, vintages, and producer are all best-in-class here—but if you’re a champagne collector, you already knew that! And if you’re not, well, time to catch up. This is champagne like no other – favoured by wine collectors, investors, wine geeks and of course, the rich and famous. Time to treat yourself like a superstar, a king, or a queen with a bottle or 6 of these rare NEW RELEASE BILLECART-SALMON Vintage champagnes
LE CLOS SAINT-HILAIRE BRUT MILLÉSIME 2006
Rarity and Complexity
Billecart-Salmon’s Le Clos Saint-Hilaire is “the King of Blanc de Noirs, alongside Krug Clos d’Ambonnay, a towering masterpiece of profound mineral clarity and unfathomable complexity.”
Tyson Stelzer, Champagne Specialist
Here, in Clos Saint-Hilaire, they have revived the traditional Champenois methods of champagne production to improve the biodiversity of this generous land. This is a unique single one-hectare parcel where the vines, soil and subsoil are carefully tended with immense respect for the environment.
Indeed, several years ago, Billecart-Salmon decided to return to ancestral champagne-making methods in the Clos Saint-Hilaire by using work horses to plough and sheep to “mow” between the vines. This method of maintaining the soil and tending the vines increases porosity and biodiversity: the roots grow deep and the minerals they draw from the soil foster the growth of smaller, more concentrated grapes, revealing the terroir’s characteristic flavour.
Only the 7th Release
Following on from the 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002 & 2003 Vintages
Only the 7th release following on from the 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2002 & 2003 vintages.
A Legend is Born:
Sixth-generation François Roland-Billecart, explains the genesis of Clos Saint-Hilaire: “In the 1950s my grandmother set aside this park-like space next to our house in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ with vines, flowers and fruit trees, for our enjoyment. Realising this outstanding terroir’s potential, my family decided to plant the first Pinot Noir vines here in 1964. We tried using the Pinot Noir to make white wine in small Burgundy barrels: an outstanding champagne was about to be born.”
It was conceived late one night as Antoine and Francois Roland-Billecart stood on the wall of the clos during harvest in 1995. With plenty of red wine in stock for their Rosé they decided they could afford to put this pinot noir in the cellar for a decade to see how it looked on its own. They were not disappointed. They called it Le Clos Saint-Hilaire after the patron saint of the church in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ.
Le Clos Saint-Hilaire is a soaring masterpiece!
– Billecart website
The Parcel
An indulged terroir
The one-hectare of pinot noir in Clos Saint-Hilaire meets the strictest guidelines: a single enclosed, contiguous parcel with complete winemaking facilities on site. The terroir’s magic combined with the wine maker’s skills make this wine exceptional.
Made only from Pinot Noir vinified in casks, it develops an outstanding purity. Billecart-Salmon decided to add very little liqueur (dosage), after disgorgement in order to let the typicity of the pinot noir used to make this great wine evolve.
Appearance: the magic of a terroir blended with expertise and ancestral know-how, reveals a deep yellow gold hue, underlined by intensely golden reflections. The graceful effervescence of fine bubbles softened by the patina of time.
Aroma: a noble, racy expression with an extremely complex, vinous impact on the nose (touch of biscuit, fresh roasted hazelnuts, white pepper). A refined development highlighting the scintillating concentrations of ripe and intense fruit (nuts and sweet spices).
Palate: the ample and imposing texture, with hints of citrus fruit flesh and pears in syrup (candied lemon zest, mandarin pulp), emerges against a base note of panettone. With a richness bursting with flavours (puffed buckwheat and precious wood), the wine is carried by a fullness of taste with bewitching charm culminating in a deliciously chalky root mineral.
Harvested late September. Natural 11% alcohol. In barrel until April 2007. Disgorged November 2020. Dosage 2 g/l. Aged on lees/in the cellar: 159 months (13 years & 3 months)
Ageing potential: over 10 years+
(from Florent NYS, Oenologist and Billecart-Salmon’s Chief Winemaker)
“Try this wonderful Champagne with aged cheeses. An aged Comté or Parmesan work very well with the saltiness and nuttiness of these cheeses are balanced with the richness of the Champagne. But, just to push a bit the usual boundaries, pair it with a nice Wagyu tartare with black truffle shavings on top. The compact structure of Clos St Hilaire withstands perfectly with the tartare while the earthy characteristics of the champagne works well with truffle. As it is a champagne very particular, it deserves meditation and attention.”
Daniel Manetti, Wine Director, The Connaught, London
Accolades
“Rich nose, yeasty and so alive. The oak shows even more as the wine opens up, giving a cedar spice. Such underlying depth and richness with such a surprising mineral and acidic backbone with a verbena note, mandarin – the most citric of the lot. There is a subtler nuttiness here that is almost creamy, like a Belgian chocolate, almost oily on the finish yet with such direction.” Drink 2025-2045
18.5/20pts – Alistair Cooper MW – Jancis Robinson.com
“An incredibly fragrant nose shines with ripe, red-cheeked Mirabelle plum and even has an overtone of Kirsch. The palate is creamy and has a wonderful spine of freshness that only helps to underscore the generosity and roundness. The mousse is superfine, the autolysis is restrained yet profound, there is a textured mid-palate of concentrated red apple fruit with an edge of candlewax and a delicious reverberation of pepper. Exquisite.”
97/100 – Anne Krebiehl, MW – Falstaff International
“It was unfair to ask this wine to perform on a stage so crowded with opinionated and excellent wines, but 2006 LCSH didn’t bat an eyelid and, in fact, opened up exponentially over the hour that I managed to spend glued to this glass. With more perfume than I expected and crammed with chypre and white smoke details, these exotic details are perfectly counterpointed with terrific complexity and thousands of layers of fruit and spice… Either way, this is a staggeringly serious vintage for LCSH, and it might well prove to be another flawless release given time.”
19.5+/20 – Matthew Jukes, Wine Writer
LOUIS SALMON BRUT BLANC DE BLANCS MILLÉSIME 2008
Purity and Minerality
This cuvée was named in tribute to Louis, Elisabeth Salmon’s brother, who was passionate about oenology and highly involved in winemaking from the earliest creation of the House. Originating from the best parcels of the Côte des Blancs, this Blanc de Blancs vintage is endowed with purity and minerality.
The grapes are all from the Grand Cru villages of the Côte des Blancs, where the hills slope gently towards the sun and the vines root down into the chalk that is not far from the surface. This gives the grapes a unique mineral character that you don’t see anywhere else in Champagne. One third of the Chardonnay juice is fermented in barrels, which adds a slight spice to the aromas and oak texture to the palate and because they are older barrels, the impact of oak on the finished champagne is very subtle.
There’s notable elegance of a mineral and exceptionally precise Chardonnay with a natural balance that is a harmonious representation of the best parcels of grand crus of Côte des Blancs: Cramant (33%), Chouilly (40%) for the finesse, Avize (7%) for the force of character and Mesnil-sur-Oger (20%) for the structure and longevity.
When discussing the 2008 vintage of Louis Salmon, CEO Mathieu Roland-Billecart says that he believes many Champagne Houses released their 2008s too early. Billecart Salmon had this wine for over 11 years on its lees. “The cold fermentation gives you the acidic backbone… the downside is that you have to wait longer.” However, 2008 is rightfully hailed as a classic vintage in Champagne – and has the ability to age further to its advantage.
“It’s early days for this baby but it has everything it needs to start its life,”
Mathieu Roland-Billecart, CEO of Billecart-Salmon
(says somewhat paternally)
Appearance: crystal clear pale gold colour with delicate glints marked by a nuanced patina of yellow and green. A persistent and fascinating effervescence, brimming with light.
Aroma: the first expression is signed by an elegant, perfect, and complex maturity, yellow fruits, and citrus (candied mandarin, limoncello, conference pear). An aromatic profile of a sophisticated purity and a chalky, balanced, and crystalline character (cedar and raw butter).
Palate: a creamy sensation in the mouth with a beautifully chiselled finesse. Lovely refreshing balance with natural flavours (zest of citron, almond biscuit, and white pepper). This powerful wine with a majestic typicity prolongs its finish towards an aromatic persistence of incredible length (flesh of sweet citrus fruits, cardamom, and vanilla-flavoured cream puffs).
Tasting: the unique dimension of a great Blanc de Blancs, pure and intense, with a directness perfectly associated with its low dosage. Its potential and its balance express a remarkable finesse worthy of the most sophisticated food pairings (a casserole of whole calf sweetbread from Corrèze, a creamy shellfish risotto). Serve at: 10/12°
33% of the wines are vinified at low temperature in oak casks that are 15 years old on average
Maturation on lees/in the cellar: 11 years; Dosage: 7g/l
Ageing potential: more than 10 years
Accolades
“The delivery here is something to behold. It is clear from the nose that this wine is made with a horologist’s precision, and while everything starts quietly, there is an uncommon determination here that keeps on coming, leaving you panting with pleasure. On the palate, 2008 Louis perfectly balances extreme tension and white-knuckle drama with the most enchanting and serene jasmine, white tea, and linden blossom notes. It seems mesmerisingly composed from one side of the glass and hellbent on rearranging your taste buds via a national grid-sized electric shock from the other.”
20++/20 – Matthew Jukes, Wine Writer
“To look at the wine is shiny platinum gold, fine bead; the aromatics are pure and fresh with sea spray, crisp white apple and a sense of wet chalk, after 30 minutes more complexity reveals itself – more fruit and fresh nuts; in the mouth the wine is tense with tingly, mineral-driven acidity, ultra-fine texture, fresh, bright, beautifully balanced with pure Sicilian lemon, a touch of aspirin; the finish has you wanting more – it finishes dry, mineral and chalky, with lemon zest. Impressive, with a long life ahead of it.”
Peter Dean, Drinks Editor, The Buyer On-trade Magazine UK
CUVÉE NICOLAS FRANÇOIS BRUT 2007
The Ultimate Distinction
Champagne of the Millennium! That was the title bestowed upon Billecart-Salmon’s 1959 Cuvée Nicolas François in 1999, catapulting it’s reputation into the stratosphere.
Organised by Champagne Specialist Richard Juhlin, a committee of experts in Stockholm blind tasted 150 vintages from the most illustrious producers around, before declaring Billecart-Salmon’s Cuvée Nicolas François 1959 with the top spot (and the 1961 vintage coming in second).
“The perfect champagne, 1959 Billecart-Salmon, had everything one would expect of a luxury champagne, but in a seldom seen concentration and simultaneously with harmonious balance. A totally perfect champagne in its category, with a smoky, honey-smooth extremely long taste of walnut, orange blossom and chocolate. All who ever get to drink this fabulous wine just have to love the pleasure it grants. When you study the end results it is striking to see how obvious the victory was.”
The Great Tasting, by Richard Juhlin
Named in honour after Billecart-Salmon’s founder, this distinction is the ultimate reflection of this cuvée’s extraordinary caliber, and the mark of excellence on each vintages released since lived up to their predecessor, despite it’s incredibly big shoes to fill.
The 2000 release, 1998 and 1999 all boast scores in the mid-high 90’s from critics across the board, and now it’s the fantastic 2007’s turn. It results from the blending of Grands Crus from the classified Côte des Blancs vineyards (Chardonnay) and the Montagne de Reims (Pinot Noir). It’s vinification, partially in traditional oak casks, underpins the generous character of this fine, elegant and rich wine, and the reviewers are already raving about it.
“In 2007 we made all three of our prestige cuvées which is very rare… [2007 is a] huge, huge vintage. Because we took our time to pick the grapes, to have a three-week fermentation and long lees ageing, we took all we needed to make a great wine. I remember that after the first fermentation the wines were so juicy, so fresh, so crisp. I knew at that time that 2007 was very good”
Florent Nys, Billecart-Salmon Cellar Master
A beautiful golden yellow, glinting with bright sparkles. The glittering, crystalline appearance is set off by an eruption of finely chiseled bubbles. A balanced tension is achieved by the blossoming of the wine (peaches in syrup, fine apple tart and mountain butter) and embodied in the noble flavours that follow (fresh fig and wild berries). It combines all the richness of an aromatic curve, both complex and refreshing. Intense, fine notes of orchard fruits, associated with the character of stone fruits (Mirabelle plum and sweet cherry) and accentuated by the burst of a long floral note.
Accolades
“Pinot noir assumes a glorious lead in a magnificent display of red berry and cherry fruits, seamlessly fused to the bright lemon and pink grapefruit eut of magnificent chardonnay acidity.”
98 points – Tyson Stelzer
“This beautiful Champagne is amazingly at its peak. Not too mature, not too young, the wine is in fine balance, showing some nervy edge as well as touches of toast. With a small amount of wood vinification, the wine has extra fullness.”
97 points – Wine Enthusiast
“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.”
97 points – Vinous
What’s the big deal with vintages in Champagne?
Perhaps no other wine region on earth is as vintage driven as Champagne. Because of its location in north-eastern France this region really pushes the envelope for grape growing – it’s marginal here. Many of the harvests in any given decade are not suitable for the production of top-quality, single-vintage Champagne.
Most of the Champagne produced is non-vintage, meaning that the wine is a blend of grapes grown during many different vintages. Single-vintage Champagne is usually only produced three or four times per decade and makes up less than 5% of total Champagne production. The rarity of these top vintages makes the great years even more special, with exceptional and rare vintages commanding high prices at auction. With climate change, Champagne has seen a string of roller-coaster vintages during the past decade.
Nevertheless, a Champagne’s vintage remains one of the most important factors for collectors and lovers of fine aged Champagne.
“Perfect growing conditions and winemaking finesse are required to create vintage champagne.”
Nick Bullied, Master of Wine
2006 A complicated vintage in Champagne. The vines suffered a mixed summer with a scorching July followed by a particularly rainy August. The rain in September then compromised the sanitary state of the grapes. The harvest had to be picked very quickly. Luckily for Clos Saint-Hilaire, Pinot Noir had the most success this year, rivalling Meunier and even Chardonnay. 2006 is vintage-dated in all champagne houses except Bollinger.
Jancis Robinson MW on the 2006 vintage: “An exceptionally hot and sunny June and July with grapes in fine fettle but a dank August left producers fearful of under ripeness. Fortunately, warm, bright conditions in September redressed the balance. Wines are supple and expressive.”
2008 A brilliant “bullseye” vintage. The 2008 vintage is widely considered one of the top two vintages of this century so far. Fast on the heels of the renown and legendary 2002. The growing season got off to a rocky start with an unusually cool and damp spring. The cool weather persisted throughout much of the summer, but September brought idyllic weather that sped up ripening. By harvest, the grapes were in near-perfect condition. They had high levels of both sugar and acid, and growers were extremely happy with the results. Subsequent tastings have proven the wines to be of exceptional quality. The vintage is defined by its crisp, linear structure and racy, energetic taste profile. Given its exceptional structure and balance, 2008 is estimated to be one of the longest aging vintages.
A Champagne House Extraordinaire
A brief history of Billecart-Salmon
During the 17th century, Pierre Billecart, an esteemed winemaker, and ancestor of Nicolas François Billecart, was summoned by King Louis XIII who authorised him to create his own coat of arms. Thus, when the Champagne House of Billecart-Salmon was born in 1818 from marriage of Nicolas-François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon, his descendants proudly reinstated them.
Situated in the village of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, near Epernay, Champagne Billecart-Salmon is still a family-run organisation with seventh generation Mathieu Roland-Billecart overseeing business. Alongside the family members are a dedicated team of people who hold the House values dear to them such as Chef de Cave François Domi who retired in 2016 after 30 years with Billecart and handed over to his deputy Florent Nys who started with the business in 2005. The vineyards are overseen by Denis Blée, and all of the team are members of the eight strong “tasting committee” along with 6th generation François Roland-Billecart and Antoine Roland-Billecart and fifth generation Jean Roland-Billecart. By 2020 production had expanded with grapes now coming from 300 hectares and 40 crus mostly within 20 kms of the winery.
Always conscious to improve the quality of their champagne, in the fifties the House established the technique of chilling the must combined with the use of stainless-steel tanks for a longer fermentation at a lower temperature. Over time, the wines conserve their freshness, and the aromas intensify, allowing Billecart-Salmon champagnes to deliver all they promise.
Billecart-Salmon is discreetly but significantly continuing to evolve. Since 2010, a new cellar has housed some 400 barrels for vinification and élevage, and since 2018, another cellar is home to oak foudres retaining some 80,000 litres of reserve wine. Meanwhile, Billecart’s wines are spending longer and longer sur lees, and fruit sourcing is changing—with more grand cru fruit replacing premier cru fruit—while volumes remain the same. Based on the trials underway in their emblematic Clos Saint-Hilaire, the next frontier will be the vineyards.
Billecart-Salmon “…is going from strength to strength.”
William Kelley, The Wine Advocate
The House style is intensely bright and fruity with an increasingly oxidative tone brought about by the recent re-introduction of oak. The Billecart-Salmon portfolio is vast, but they are best known for their prestige cuvées, Cuvée Nicolas-François, Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Rosé, and Cuvée Louis Salmon.
In 1999, Cuvée Nicolas-François 1959 was awarded ‘Champagne of the Millennium‘ by a committee of experts at a blind tasting session involving 150 vintages from the most illustrious champagne producers. The 1961 vintage, for its part, came second! WOW!
The jewel of the estate, however, is the single-vineyard champagne Clos Saint Hilaire: a monstrously powerful cuvée – the 2006 now available in extremely limited quantities.
Do not delay, if you are serious about filling your wine cellar with true icons, these Billecart-Salmon Vintage Champagnes should be snapped up fast (available by pre-order) before our sadly meagre Dhall & Nash allocation runs dry!
“we can rest assured that vintage Champagne is definitely still a force to be reckoned with…”
Simon Field MW, Decanter
By the way…You may ask that in a world happy enough with prosecco and pét-nat, are these vintage champagnes truly worth it? Absolutely. Even if our modern day lives are full of distractions and disappointments, a surprisingly small number of deluxe Champagne Houses, such as Billecart-Salmon, still represent the highest-quality fizz you can find. These are hauntingly powerful masterworks. In other words, an astoundingly sublime wine experience. What you’re paying for are the very best grapes from grands crus and premiers crus vineyards in the very best years; with extra years of aging in the Champagne’s cold, chalky cellars (which gives the wines more complex flavours and aromas); the undoubted rarity factor; and, of course, Prestige with a capital P!
Billecart-Salmon is certified « High Environmental Value » and in 2017, was awarded the
« Sustainable Viticulture in Champagne » certification for its winemaking
Champagne: A Vintage Affair
Champagne: A Vintage Affair
"Heavens, we need cheer and conviviality at the moment – and what more cheering and convivial than a glassful of bubbles?" - Jancis Robinson MW
The sight and sound of that POP! of a bottle of champagne is enough to turn the head of any wine fan at this time of the year especially after the roller coaster ride of 2021! Of course, valued fellow imbibers, you trust us enough when we tell you there’s something next level to taste in a chilled glass of liquid luxury, that is – VINTAGE CHAMPAGNE.
Of course, vintage anything is having a cool-kid moment, and vintage champagne is no exception, albeit in a major wine geek kind of way. With the fizz-laden festivities of Christmas and the New Year fast approaching, it’s only fitting that here at Dhall & Nash we’ve turned our attention to the joyful extravagance of vivacious vintage champagne!
Christmas’ feel-good vibe inspires us to open more bottles of champagne than at any other time of the year. But as we float from party-to-party and gift-to-gift, champagne becomes little more than a celebratory tipple or a means to ease into our dreamy slothful southern hemisphere summer. Most of you could happily opt for a familiar offering that is more than likely a non-vintage cuvée. But for the true aficionado, vintage means everything when it comes to champagne.
OK. It’s time for us to take it up a notch! Let’s ‘do’ vintage. Vintage champagne remains the ultimate luxury libation: favoured by wine collectors, investors, wine geeks and of course, the rich and famous. Always considered an essential toast at important occasions. At Dhall & Nash we are definitely fizz enthusiasts, but we can also understand why some tipplers may feel overwhelmed at the plethora of options available when you want to pop a cork. Let’s look at what makes vintage champagne so special and what’s behind the big bucks that people are prepared to pay for the real deal!
“Great Champagne is a gift you never forget.”
Erin Brooks, Wine writer for RobertParker.com
What's the Difference Between Vintage & Non-Vintage Champagne?
When it comes to bubbles, not all champagne is created equal. Some of the most famous champagne brands in the world, such as Dom Pérignon, Salon and Cristal, only exist as vintages. With many differences in style, production and taste, vintage champagne is much more than an expensive version of regular fizz.
Looking at the labels on bottles of bubbles on shop shelves you’ll not likely see a year written. That’s because most champagne is non-vintage (NV), or ‘Champagne sans année’ as the French more attractively describe it. Non-vintage champagne is made from a blend of two or usually more harvests and accounts for the vast majority of champagne production.
For the grandes marques champagne houses, the aim here is to produce a consistent signature style and to avoid the effects of inclement weather events that the region is prone to. Let’s say it’s their polished calling card, their brand identity.
In contrast, vintage Champagne – or more correctly, ‘millésimé’ – has to be 100% from the year indicated on the label and, as a result, is more variable in style. It is, in effect, a true expression of one single harvest. The character of the year gives the characteristics of the vintage, but the step up in quality and intensity of flavour comes from the selection of the best grapes from Champagne’s top terroir.
Think of vintage champagne like single-origin coffee or chocolate. Basically, what you’re getting from any of these things is an expression of a particular place and time. And that makes it extremely exciting and rather grand when it comes to vintage champagne.
The true beauty of vintage cuvées is that it best demonstrates that champagne is a fine wine that can be kept for many years without losing all its zip and freshness, at the same time developing aromas, flavours and complexity that set it apart from other top sparkling wines.
Which are the Great Vintages for Champagne?
“A vintage champagne is a joint venture between the winemaker and the climate.”
Olivier Krug, legendary Champagne House owner
It used to be said that vintage champagne is typically released by the majority of producers three or four times a decade – only when the weather in this, the most northerly of France’s wine regions, is judged to be exceptional. However, since the turn of the millennium, Champagne has experienced generally warmer summers and looks likely to muster five high-quality vintages in a decade.
However, there is no template for the perfect year – considering the fickleness of Mother Nature. Potentially any year can be a ‘vintage’ year in Champagne, and clearly certain vintages are more highly regarded than others.
The style of the vintage depends on a series of complicated factors where temperature, sunshine hours and rainfall are of great importance. The decisive factor is mainly how these components are distributed during the year.
The personality of the different vintages is one of the champagne taster’s greatest joys. Some are most fond of the powerful alcoholic vintages with excess heat such as 1947, 1959, 1976, 1989, 1990, 2003 and 2015, while others prefer vintages that gave cooler, tart, elegant and fine-tuned champagnes, such as: 1919, 1952, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1979, 1981, 1985, 1988, 1996 and 2008.
Regardless of which years are preferred, the different vintages have a rich variety that makes wine tasting even more scintillating.
Then there are the vast differences between Champagne houses – each has its own individual slant on its winemaking process. Take the revered Salon, for example. They announced in 2014 that they would not be making a 2012 vintage, claiming that there has not been a genuinely great vintage in Champagne since 2008. Other houses were quick to disagree, however, with many billing 2012 as a legendary year, and critic Robert Parker giving the overall vintage an impressive 96 points.
The best Champagne vintages of the 21st century have been: 2000, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, and 2014.
Because of the long ageing that vintage Champagne typically undergoes, it’s still too early to properly assess the vintages of more recent times, but as far as Robert Parker’s conclusions go, the 2014, 2013 and, notably, the 2012 have all proved excellent. The 2008 is arguably the standout so far since the turn of the century however, with Parker awarding it 99 points. Its success was something of a surprise to all, since the year opened with widespread mildew meaning expectations were low. The 2000 and 2002 have also been very well received.
But guess what? If the Champagne house declares its grapes are worthy of being a vintage year – there’s going to be some seriously great juice in that bottle!
So, What is a Prestige Cuvée?
The producers’ very best champagnes are considered Prestige Cuvées. Prestige Cuvées are made from the finest grapes from the best locations of the vineyards. They are typically aged from 5 to 8 years with more complex, elegant, and intense aromas, and flavours. These wines are typically very limited and very expensive. The famous Prestige Cuvées Champagnes are Dom Pérignon and Cristal from Louis Roederer. Although Prestige Cuvées are mainly vintage champagnes, they can be non-vintage.
“Good Champagnes conform to the rules. Really great Champagnes often break them!”
Pierre Larmandier of Champagne Larmandier-Bernier
What's With that Price Tag?
Basically, three factors dictate costs. Scarcity, time spent ageing, and terroir quality. Vintage champagne is a very small category, representing only 1.5 percent of shipments from the region, as opposed to 78.5 percent for non-vintage cuvées. Given this limited production, as well as stricter regulations on its ageing, vintage champagnes have a special aura to them, kind of like being a member at an exclusive private club.
The other defining characteristic of vintage champagne is that, by law, it must be aged a minimum of three years. By comparison, non-vintage Champagne has a 15-month minimum. In fact, the top vintage champagnes tend to be aged for much longer before being released to the market. Then leading Champagne houses, like Billecart-Salmon, will generally release the wine to market when they believe the champagne is ready for consumption and not necessarily in chronological order.
This ageing process results in the Champagnes having much longer contact with the lees, where they derive their biscuit, brioche and nutty flavours that gives the champagne more complexity, while protecting it so that it can age for longer in bottle and develop incredible depth and precision.
Once a vintage is made it can never be remade and once released to market each vintage is steadily consumed, meaning that as the quality improves, the supply decreases, creating an inverse supply curve. Production of these prestigious cuvees tends to be very small and cannot meet global demand.
So, you ask, but are they worth the money? Hell yes! They’re profoundly complex and totally unique. They’re rare! What are you waiting for – place that order! 
Vintage Champagne is Investible:
The best vintage champagne bottles are prized for their complex notes but also for some people, for their investment potential – stemming mainly from scarcity and meticulous winemaking practices. When compared to similarly rated and evaluated Bordeaux and Burgundies, vintage champagne is relatively affordable. Therefore, it offers investors a lower entry point and value for money when diversifying their portfolios or when starting out.
With production and therefore supply being very restricted, vintage champagne maintains an incredibly strong consumption market too, readymade in top end nightclubs, hotels, restaurants, and private members clubs around the world. The remainder goes to private collectors’ portfolios or cellars, who buy within a few years of release and as a result pay a lot less in the future when they choose to drink it, or alternatively resell it for a profit.
What to Expect From Vintage Champagne:
Flavour-wise, we know that vintage champagne is a very different beast to non-vintage champagne. NV champagne is generally revered for being fresh, acidic, and very fizzy. Vintage champagne is often less fizzy, much richer, and more like a great white Burgundy.
Vintage champagne gains wonderful secondary aromas and flavours with age, including those of dried fruit, honey, hazelnut, and biscuit, and also acquires a toastiness and creaminess with maturity. Over the years, the carbonation will mellow, leading to soft tingling fizz along with bright levels of acidity on the palate. Simultaneously capturing freshness, refined elegance, and mesmerising complexity – they become truly magical vinous masterpieces.
How to Serve Vintage Champagne:
“My dear girl, there are some things that just aren’t done, such as drinking Dom Perignon ’53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs!”
James Bond in Goldfinger (1964)
Interesting how the coolest Secret Agent 007 could screw up back in the day! James Bond got 1 out of 3 on the money. Namely, he was drinking classy vintage champagne but at the wrong temperature. And he definitely missed his target on the legendary Beatles.
Moving into the twenty-first century, we now know to treat vintage champagne differently to enjoy fully the complex flavours. Always allow the vintage to breathe for up to 30 minutes first to release maximum aromas.
Renown champagne boss Antoine Rolland-Billecart of Billecart-Salmon says wine is like a human being in the cold. “Put yourself out in the snow and you won’t show anything either, you’ll be covered up!” he says. Three degrees breaks everything in champagne. It should be served at cellar temperature, (10-12 degrees Celsius) and never below eight degrees for NV and rosé.
As for the glasses, well, using decent glassware is essential for fully appreciating aged champagne. Those in the know and the Champenois themselves, prefer slightly wider glasses than typical champagne flutes, to allow their finest cuvees space to open out. Think somewhere between a flute and a fine white wine glass with a slight curve-in at the top. The traditional elongated flute holds its bubbles longest. But vintage champagne is a fine wine and it’s not just about the “scenery” – it’s about the aromatics, the many nuances on the palate. Finally, the flat champagne ‘coupe’ is a total no-no. The large open surface area evaporates both bead and aroma rapidly. Whilst the wide rim means that the wine is spilled to the sides of the tongue, where sensitivity to acidity is heightened. Non! Quel horreur!
As you’ve read here, vintage cuvées demonstrate best that champagne is a wine that can be kept for many years without losing any of its zip and freshness, at the same time developing aromas, exotic flavours and spellbinding complexity that set it apart from other top sparkling wines.
And if you ask us at Dhall & Nash, any time is a good time to sip some bodacious bubbly. Perhaps we can take a little life lesson after the past 2 years of loony lockdowns and tough times – why wait? – go pop a cork of something exceptional and vintage for someone special right now! Or ‘sleigh’ your gift list and really impress with a few vintage champagne charmers.
Delve into our Dhall & Nash vintage champagne selection and discover champagne’s astounding ability to age oh-so gracefully and to please every refined palate:
Our Vintage Champagne From Billecart-Salmon:
“The mark of Billecart is made not by the heavy footfall of concentration, power and presence, but rather the fairy touch of delicacy and crystal-clear fidelity.”
Tyson Stelzer, Acclaimed Champagne Specialist & Wine Critic
Billecart-Salmon makes one of the greatest rosés in the world – so treat yourself, you deserve it! This is vintage rosé at its finest and from one of the greatest Champagne vintages in modern memory!
Meet our Dhall & Nash poster-girl of vintage champagne – she’s all class. The 2008 Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne has been endlessly and deservedly featured in wine reviews and on magazine covers. Cleverly, the raciness of the outstanding 2008 vintage has been married perfectly to the richness and power of the old vine Pinot that gives this wine its colour. It is a knockout!
The 2008 Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Rosé is made mostly from Grand Cru vineyards, but it is the Premier Cru that goes into it that makes it so special. The red wine that gives this rosé its colour comes from a small plot of 80-year-old Pinot Noir in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ called the Valofroy. This parcel, adjacent to the Clos des Goisses, faces due south and directly down at the Marne. The production from this ancient site is the limiting factor for the production of this rare tête de cuvée. The wine is composed of 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay, and the red wine makes up just about 10% of the total.
2008 Champagne Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Brut Rosé
2007 Champagne Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas François Brut
2006 Champagne Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas François Brut 1.5L Magnum
2009 Champagne Billecart-Salmon Vintage
Our Vintage Champagne From Egly-Ouriet:
Egly-Ouriet is… “A breath of fresh air in a region saturated with marketing froth.”
Tyson Stelzer, Acclaimed Champagne Specialist & Wine Critic
Domaine Egly-Ouriet Vintage Champagne is unforgettable. What you’ll find at this “grower” house is truly champagnes striking in their concentration and complexity. Egly-Ouriet Champagne is age-worthy, sumptuous and at times surreal; these wines are unquestionably the pinnacle of Pinot Noir-based Champagne.
2011 Champagne Egly-Ouriet Brut Millésime Grand Cru
Our Vintage Champagne From Larmandier-Bernier:
Larmandier-Bernier is a renowned Maison de Champagne located in the Côte de Blancs that biodynamically cultivates its 18 hectares of vineyards, prioritising the preservation of old vines that are cultivated with minimal intervention.
Ever the purists, Larmandier-Bernier utilize only indigenous yeasts, separate vinification for each cru, and little to no dosage for an unadulterated expression of terroir in their wines. The wines are vinified in a variety of stainless-steel tanks; large, old, wood foudres; enamel-lined tanks; or smaller Burgundian barrels, depending on each cru and each vintage.
2014 Champagne Larmandier-Bernier Premier Cru Terre de Vertus Non-Dosé Blanc de Blancs
From all of us at Dhall & Nash to all of you, our truly valued fellow imbibers
Happy Holidays full of fun and fabulicious vintage fizz!
For orders please email us at orders@dnfinewine.com.
The Obligatory Fizz: Festive Sparkling Wines
What is Christmas and the holiday season all about? It’s all about celebrations! And what says celebrating more than anything else in the liquid form than BUBBLY!
Whether you are ringing in the New Year or gathering the family together for a holiday, sparkling wine is THE drink. It is made all over the world. But, not all bubbly is created equal – more specifically, all Champagne is sparkling wine, but not all sparkling wine is Champagne…
To help with your selection of festive fizz, be it for perfect pressies, party quaffers, an Xmas BBQ or just the joy of hearing that cork pop! we have put together a guide to Champagne and other popular types of sparkling wine. From Prosecco to Cava to Champagne and more.
Let the partaaay begin.
How Sparkling Wine is Made
In order to get those frisky flirty bubbles in a bottle that we all know and love, sparkling wine has to be produced in a certain way. Every sparkling wine goes through two fermentation processes, but it is the second fermentation (the one that produces the bubbles) that differentiates them. There are numerous ways that sparkling wine can be produced, each method resulting in a different carbonation level. However, the two most popular sparkling wine production methods are the Traditional Method (Methode Traditionnelle) and the Tank Method (Charmat):
Traditional Method: What separates this method from the rest is that the second fermentation takes place in the bottle where sugars and yeasts are added. This method produces fine bubbles and is used when making Champagne and also in the case of some New World sparkling producers like our own De La Terre Cuvée II Methode Traditionnelle.
Tank (Charmat) Method: What makes this method different from the others is that the second fermentation process takes place in a large steel tank. This process creates larger bubbles that can be found in sparkling wines like Prosecco.
To help you navigate the wine aisle or restaurant wine list and choose the perfect wine for your taste buds, here’s a brief explanation…
Champagne – The Queen of Sparkling Wines
Sparkling wine can only be considered Champagne if it comes from the region of Champagne, in northeast France. The Champagne region retains its place as the world’s premier producer of sparkling wine – long associated with luxury and celebration. In the Champagne appellation they generally use three grape varieties: Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and/or Pinot Noir. It is only made in the labour intensive classic traditional method of secondary fermentation taking place in the individual bottles. Most Champagne is typically made from blending these three grape varieties as they each offer different characters to enhance flavour profile and structure: Pinot Noir adds body, structure and complexity; Pinot Meunier adds fruit and floral aromas; and Chardonnay adds freshness, elegance and finesse.
How they blend these grapes and what portion they use of which grape changes the way the Champagne tastes and what style of Champagne it is. Blanc de Blancs is produced using only chardonnay grapes and is known to be a crisper, more citrus-driven style, while Blanc de Noir is produced using Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier grapes and has greater body and more richness. These two styles respectively translate as “White from Whites” and “White from Blacks”, referring to the fact that neither style use skin contact in production and are therefore “white” in colour.
To make prestigious Champagne Rosé there are two methods to achieve the delightful pink hues: the first is rosé d’assemblage or blended Champagne with a small percentage (approx. 15%) of still red wine being added to the white wine assemblage. The second is Champagne rosé de saignée or when they ‘bleed’ dark skinned grapes to give colour to the white champagne assemblage.
What is the difference between Vintage & NV (Non-Vintage) Champagne?
Vintage Champagnes, such as the Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Nicolas-Francois Brut 2002, are made with grapes from a single year’s harvest and will have that year displayed on the bottle. Representing less than 5% of all production, they are typically produced in great vintages which sometimes only happen three or four times in a decade and reveal the highest expression of that Champagne house.
Vintage Champagnes must be aged for a minimum of three years in the bottle, as opposed to 15 months for non-vintage versions. Ageing is the luxury factor – there is a lot of painstaking work and cellaring and expensive real estate required to bring those gorgeous bottles of Champagne to us. Not only are they sourcing grapes from their best vintage, but the grapes are coming from highly venerated vineyards.
Non-Vintage Champagne (NV), is produced with grapes from multiple harvests. Often, it is an assembly of three to five vintages created to reflect a consistent house style by the Chef de Cave – the Champagne house’s Head Blender. While vintage Champagnes are celebrated for their uniqueness, non-vintages are valued for familiarity, often highlighting a label’s flagship tastes and aromas. Each Champagne maker has a house style. In some cases they are Pinot Noir-focused and are richer and bolder like André Clouet. Others, like Larmandier-Bernier, specialise in Chardonnay grapes, which make the Champagne more elegant and brighter and a little “nervier”. If you like a house’s specific style, you’ll probably like them across the spectrum – from non-vintage all the way through to vintage!
Have you heard about the on-trend cool ‘Grower Champagnes’? Check out the small print on the champagne labels:
‘RM’ (Récoltant Manipulant) means a grower that makes Champagne from his own grapes instead of selling to the larger ‘NM’ houses. There are more than 15,000 growers in Champagne and between them they own roughly 90% of the vineyards. About 2,000 of these growers choose to make their own Champagne. There will be many names you will never have heard of registered as ‘RM’ as they don’t have the huge marketing budgets of the large Champagne Maisons. In the Dhall & Nash portfolio we are honoured to have one of the finest Grower Champagnes with a cult following – Egly-Ouriet who have Grand Cru vineyard sites. Exceptional expression from exceptional terroir! It is this diversity of styles found among the grower producers (RM) that makes grower Champagne so fascinating – they offer a much wider array of expressions than were available in the region even just a couple of decades ago. These wines can often challenge orthodox ideas of what Champagne is, with their concentrated fruit flavours and intense, almost forceful personalities. This is part of the evolution of the appellation: an ongoing re-evaluation of the identity of Champagne in the modern day.
‘NM’ (Négociant Manipulant) appears beside the producer’s name, indicating the producer purchases a large proportion of the grapes, grape must or wine to make the Champagne. There are 380 houses who dominate sales and account for 2/3 of all Champagne shipments worldwide, but they only own about 10% of all the vineyards in France. You’ll know some names – Mumm, Moet, Veuve… Houses can be corporate-owned (for example Moet & Chandon and Veuve Clicquot are owned by LVMH), or family-owned and operated like Dhall & Nash’s Billecart-Salmon.
‘CM’ (Coopérative de Manipulation) is a cooperative that sells wines from its members’ grapes. Cooperatives are smaller in number and represent groups of growers who pool their resources – grapes, production facilities and marketing – to sell under a single label. Nicolas Feuillatte is the oldest and largest example of a co-op.
Sparkling Wine Dryness Levels (Grams per Litre)
When buying sparkling wine, you may notice that the bottle comes labelled with a word like “brut”, “dry” or something of that nature. These words are referring to the dryness level of the particular bottle you are buying. This is measured by the amount of residual sugar in grams per litre of wine. Because the terminology can be a bit confusing, we have explained the main levels of dryness for you below:
Extra Brut (0-6 g/l) is the driest form of sparkling wine with 0-6 grams per litre of residual sugar. This means that during the fermentation process the yeast has eaten most, if not all, of the sugar. Cava is a popular type of wine that can come in this form.
Brut (0-12 g/l) is the most popular form of sparkling wine because it is dry with just a hint of sweetness; it has less than 12 grams per litre of residual sugar. Champagne is a sparkling wine that often comes in the brut variety.
Extra Dry (12-17 g/l) While this bubbly drink is dry, it is not as dry as the two before it. It contains a slight sweetness left over from the fermentation process. When drinking this, do not expect a sugary sweet taste, but just hint of sweetness compared to the two above. Prosecco is a type of sparkling wine that is often extra dry.
Demi-Sec (32-50 g/l) is considered a sweet variety of wine that one would often drink with dessert. There is a noticeable amount of sweetness to the taste of this wine and it can have up to 50 grams per litre of residual sugar. Champagne can be made in this variety though it is not common. Demi-sec types of sparkling wine pair best with foods like chocolate, desserts or cheeses.
Doux (greater than 50 g/l) Finally, a wine whose classification means what it is, “sweet”. These delicious sparklers pack over 50 grams of residual sugar per litre. Liquid lusciousness!
And on the day… How long should you chill Champagne for?
In the rush of the big day, it’s easy to forget to put your fabulous bubbly on ice. But it’s worth getting right for any celebration and particularly on a scorcher of a Kiwi summertime Xmas day. The best way to chill Champagne is in a big bucket full of ice which takes about 10-15 minutes. For magnums, it’s about 25 minutes. If you need to hurry things along, use plenty of rock salt and a little water with the ice. The salt will melt the ice very quickly, the melted water being very cold and the Champagne will get chilled in less than 10 minutes. If you’ll be using your fridge to chill it, things will take longer – depending on the temperature of your fridge and how full it is – so plan ahead. Ideally Champagne tastes perfect chilled at 8-10 degrees Celsius.
So what are you waiting for? POP a bottle! Champagne is so incredibly versatile, it goes amazingly well with a wide variety of flavours and cuisines – in fact with just about anything from breakfast dishes to spicy foods to delicate fine foods and more. Champagne’s perky fine bubbles release racy freshness, with a tease of fruitiness, purity and precision vibrantly dancing across your palate. This is bottled poetry ready for all of life’s special moments.
The Other Sparkling Wines
Prosecco gets its name from the village it originated in – Prosecco, Italy. Prosecco is made from Glera grapes and tends to be on the sweeter side when it comes to taste. This particular sparking wine is made using the tank method (charmat), causing it to have larger bubbles and making it a popular addition to cocktails.
Cava is a sparkling wine that comes from Spain, in the region of Catalonia. It is produced in the traditional method and is primarily made from the Spanish grape, Macabeo, which adds a fresh, lemony flavour to the taste. It can also be made with Xarello and Parellada grapes which have fruity undertones of pear and citrus. All have floral aromas and are a lot less sweet in taste than Prosecco.
Crémant is a sparkling wine that can be produced in several areas of France such as Limoux, Loire and Burgundy. This particular sparkling wine is created in the same traditional method as Champagne and has a flavour that can vary depending on the type of grape it is made with. However, most types have a creamy and nutty taste rather than sweet.
Champagne Visits: Back to the Sources
Back to the Sources
Our Promotions Coordinator Lucille travels to Champagne...
“As a true Champenoise it was a real pleasure to go back to France and visit some of our Champagne Houses; my old neighbours, you could say! Being surrounded by vineyards while I was driving brought back so many good memories of hard work and drinking during the grape harvest seasons. When the harvest is done, there is a tradition to have a big feast, which in my region is called “Chien de vendange”, to thank all the workers who participated. As you can imagine, Champagne would flow freely during these celebrations.
Champagne Larmandier-Bernier
My little round trip started at Maison Larmandier-Bernier in Vertus and I was welcomed by Arthur, the 8th generation of Larmandier. As with all the Champagne growers, Larmandier-Bernier really care about nature and the environment that they work in, and since the 90’s pesticides have been totally banned. Larmandier-Bernier officially obtained the bio certification in 2003. They want to leave nature to express all its characteristics in the wines and following this philosophy they don’t use any chemical yeast, only indigenous, which is naturally present on the grapes. They also use very few new barrels to avoid an overwhelming oak flavour.
They have named one of their cuvées ‘Longitude’ because all of the parcels of this cuvée are on the same longitude line as the Côte des Blancs. Another one is called ‘Latitude’ – I’ll let you guess why!
Champagne Egly-Ouriet
After Larmandier-Bernier, I then had the privilege of visiting the Maison Egly-Ouriet and to have been welcomed by Francis Egly himself! I was really impressed to meet the big star of the House but he’s just like you and I – a Champagne lover. He doesn’t consider himself a star, he just loves his work and you can definitely feel it through his amazing cuvées. Tyson Stelzer calls his work “wizardry” and such a statement could not ring more true.
During my visit Mr. Egly told me a lot about biological technologies like the use of orange peel against the mildiou, a disease that can cause severe damage to the vineyards. It was really interesting, and after only a few minutes of talking with him I learned so much!
Mr. Egly doesn’t have the official bio certification because he simply doesn’t feel a need for it. No official certification is required to make him want to take care of his vineyards and the environment, but I can guarantee you that everything is done with a deep respect of mother nature.
Mr. Egly is also incredibly generous – he sponsored me to participate to an incredible adventure to inform people about bone marrow transplantations. You can read on this more here.
Champagne Bouby et Fils
My third visit was the house Bouby et Fils. This little Maison of 7ha of vineyards and a production of only 15,000 bottles per year has a story worthy of the best drama movies.
Everything started in 1919 when François Bouby, only 19 years old at the time, was sent to Champagne to deactivate the landmines left over after World War I. During this perilous mission he fell ill and was taken care of by a 23-year-old nurse, Rose. They soon fell in love and decide to settle in Verneuil to cultivate their first vineyard and start their Champagne production. After surviving the second world war and 4 generations, the Maison is now run by Jerome Bouby who perfectly carries on his ancestors’ savoir-faire.
Try the Champagne Bouby et Fils Brut selection, you will be surprised by this small Maison full of talent!
Champagne Armand de Brignac
It was time to visit the magical cave of Armand de Brignac. All of the gold Champagne bottles illuminated in the cave, bringing you in to a new world – it was mesmerizing! However, I was a little bit disappointed I did not meet the owner Jay-Z… They could have at least sent his wife Beyonce to welcome us!
The goal of Armand de Brignac is to create a Champagne to represent the best of the best from the region. Following this, they use the very first and freshest portion of the cuvée press only. They are also the only House in Champagne to blend a trio of vintages in order to bring a unique character from three distinct harvests. Brilliant!
Champagne Billecart-Salmon
My last, but definitely not least, visit was to the prestigious Maison Billecart-Salmon.
It all started in 1818 when Nicolas François Billecart married Elisabeth Salmon and received vineyards as wedding gifts from both sides of the family – thus, the Maison Billecart-Salmon was born!
What a pleasure to visit this Maison. The architecture of the House is splendid, the design details on the cave are amazing and the tasting at the end was magnificent. All of their wines are so well balanced and fine, I wish this tasting would never ending! But sadly all good things must come to an end…”
– Lucille
Drinkin' Hine, Feelin' Fine
Drinkin' Hine, Feelin' Fine
Here's Why You Should be Drinking Hine Cognac...
If one were to bottle opulence, what would you get? Cognac. Liquid gold. Smooth, amber liquid that blurs the line between wine and spirits. This fabled creation is revered for good reason among even the most discerning drinkers. Put on a pedestal where whispers of its prestige swirl at its foot – songs are sung about it and no fine bar is complete without it. But what IS Cognac?
We at Dhall & Nash have just this year introduced the first Cognac brand into our portfolio, Hine, and in doing so we’ve sparked a bit of a Cognac revolution within our own office. No dinner we host is complete without a cheeky Cognac at the end, lately! We live and breathe wine all day every day so to find something that adheres to all the rules and intricacies within the world of wine, yet sits in a sphere of its own has captivated us.
The Basics:
Cognac is a type of Brandy named for the town of Cognac in France. The easiest way to explain it would be all Cognacs are Brandy, but not all Brandies are Cognac. It must fit strict criteria to be a Cognac rather than a Brandy:
- It must hail from the Cognac AOC (Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée). Just as wines labelled Champagne must be from the Champagne AOC. Source of origin and locality is everything to French winemakers, and this extends to Cognac, too.
- It must be made from a specified grape variety (majoritively Ugni Blanc), that has been distilled twice in special copper alembic stills. The designs of such stills are – you guessed it – controlled by law.
- Once the distillation process has occurred, it must be aged for a minimum of two years in Limousin oak casks.
The Appellations:
If you’re familiar with French wine, you will be familiar with appellations and the great impact they have on winemaking. The AOC system was formally introduced in the early 20th century when the Law for the Protection of the Place of Origin was passed. This was to guarantee the authenticity and quality of a product.
They are, in Layman’s terms, specific geographic areas wherein each area has its own set of strict rules that are enforced by law and overseen by a specially appointed government bureau (they take reputation very seriously!). If you don’t follow the rules, you don’t get to use the prestigious label name.
There are seven growing regions or ‘departments’ within the Cognac AOC, sometimes referred to as ‘Cru’. There are two major players, of whom have (arguably) the highest reputation – Grande Champagne and Petite Champagne. (Side note: these have nothing to do with the sparkling cuvées that are synonymous with the name). The other five are Borderies, Fins Bois, Bons Bois, Bois Ordinaires and Bois à Terroirs.
Cognacs hailing from the Grande Champagne department of the AOC are considered by some to be the cream of the crop, followed closely by Petite Champagne. If a Cognac is comprised of a blend of these two designations it can be labelled as ‘Fine Champagne’ so long as the portion of Grande Champagne Cognac is 50% or more. Both areas boast shallow clay-limestone, over limestone and chalk.
The Labelling System:
One of the most frequently asked questions about Cognac is “what’s with the labelling system?” There are V’s and S’s and X’s aplenty – which can lead to a lot of head scratching for anyone who isn’t familiar with Cognac and all its intricacies. The good news is, there’s really only four designations of which you need to remember. VS, VSOP, XO and Hors d’âge, and each of them are an indication of age.
- VS: has been aged for a minimum of 2 years. VS stands for “Very Special” and can sometimes be represented as three stars.
- VSOP: Guarantees at least 4 years of aging. VSOP stands for “Very Superior Old Pale” or “Reserve”.
- XO: Until 2018, XO meant a wine was aged for 6 years. It now represents an aging time of 10 years, and the designation “Napoléon” will step in as the label for any brandies aged for 6 years. XO stands for “Extra Old”.
- Hors d’âge: or “Beyond Age”. To be labelled Hors d’âge, the Cognac fits the criteria of an XO, but the term Hors d’âge is often used to differentiate Cognacs that represent an even higher level of quality than an XO.
The best bit about these Cognacs is that the label given to a Cognac is determined by the age of the absolute youngest brandy used in the blending. Even in a VS brandy it is possible that some of the blend comes from barrels aged for decades.
Introducing Hine Cognac…
Our little corner of the world of Cognac rests with Hine. While it isn’t quite one of the big wigs like Rémy Martin or Hennessy, it isn’t a small name and definitely shouldn’t be passed by. Hine was awarded the Royal Warrant in 1962 by Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II, and remains the only official supplier of cognac to the British monarchy. Honestly, if it’s good enough for royalty, it’s good enough for us, but its praises don’t end there.
In 1791, Thomas Hine set out from his home in Dorset, England to learn the ins and outs of how Cognac was produced. He was a mere sixteen years old and curious about what went into creating the copper-tinted brandy his father favoured. His timing, however, was most unfortunate as he reached France right in the middle of the French Revolution – not the safest place for an Englishman at the time by any stretch of the imagination. After turning on his heels and attempting to high-tail it out of there, he was imprisoned at the Château de Jarnac. In a strange twist of events, he marries the daughter of the hosts – Françoise-Elisabeth – and in 1817 he retrospectively gave his name to the house which had been established on the banks of the Charente in 1763, before he’d even been born.
Since then, the descendents of Thomas and Françoise-Elisabeth have maintained the Hine Cognac House, and six generations have upheld its prestige. They are proud of the fact their cellar door has seen many a year pass by – all whilst being tended by the Hines. Today, Bernard Hine is at the helm.
The House of Hine cherishes a solid belief: that a great cognac is above all a great white wine.
“The identity of this wine is imprinted beneath our feet, at the heart of a living land that has evolved over thousands of years. Vines form the link between the earth and the heavens, replete with vagaries and caprices. They infuse the grapes with a character extracted from this unique, unparalleled place, imbued with a temporality that commands the here and now. Cognac embodies a perpetual quest for balance between consistency and virtuosity.”
And it was this philosophy that reeled us at Dhall & Nash in – hook line and sinker. We pride ourselves on our deep respect for the families who work their piece of earth until they know it as instinctively as the back of their hand – it etches itself into the bloodline, and to find this reflected so perfectly in the Hine belief was something that spoke to us all. Add to this the admirable way they’ve maintained a real essence of ‘cool’ that keeps up with modern times and remains approachable and fun, whilst marrying this with a real seriousness and respect for tradition and history. It’s rare for a brand to transcend these rather demographic-defining boxes and become a voice for both new generations of cognac-lovers and loyal veterans of the prestigious tipple.
As well as our word, and that of Her Majesty the Queen, there are plenty of critics who sing the praises of this House as well. Jason Wilson for Vinous recently published a piece detailing his love and exploration of Cognac. In this he says,
“…For this report, I’ve pushed beyond the Big Four, beyond the flashy and expensive, and tried to bring you a broad sense of what’s really happening in Cognac. I have covered more than 50 brands and offering reviews and ratings on more than 200 bottles.
I found value and quality among medium-sized producers like Frapin, Hine, Braastad-Tiffon, Pierre Ferrand, Delamain and Bache Gabrielsen, among others.“
The Guardian, too, listed it among the top ten distillers, tours and tastings.
All in all, Hine is the best of not just both worlds – but every world. It is a wine, it is a spirit, and it’s good at being both. It is a fresh, bold and slightly cheeky brand, yet remains serious and true to its origins going back centuries. Whether you’re young, old, a whiskey-lover, or a wine-aficionado, an ‘on the rocks’ fella or you like it with a twist – Hine’s got you covered.
H by Hine VSOP Cognac
“H by Hine is light amber, with a pretty nose of iris and buttered brioche. On the palate, it’s light and fresh, offering notes of nougat and candied orange, and some wood on the finish.”
Antonio Galloni, Vinous (92 points)
Hine Rare VSOP Cognac
“This rich, supple Cognac is a liquid expression of a vintage leather club chair. The nut-brown spirit has big aromas of crème brûlée, toffee, cigar tobacco and cocoa. After an initial sweetness on the tongue, it finishes relatively dry with lingering caramel, raisin, leather and orange peel flavors, and a bracing alcohol bite.”
Wine Enthusiast (93 points)
Hine Antique XO Cognac
“Light copper in color, with a subtle nose redolent of fresh flowers at first, but as it opens there are more expressive notes of fruit pastry, which carry on to the full-bodied palate. Pear tart, hazelnuts and a bit of spice and tobacco on the finish.”
Antonio Galloni, Vinous (93 points)
Staff Wine Focus with Laura O'Loughlin
Continuing our monthly staff favourite series is our resident techie and Digital Producer, Laura.
Laura is the dynamic force behind our digital platforms. With a Bachelor's Degree in Creative Technologies, her skills span across the technical and social mediums. Laura is a big fan of sparkling wines and sweet, fruity whites.
We sat down with Laura to ask her the burning question…
“What is your current favourite wine and why?”
NV Armand de Brignac “Ace of Spades” Gold Brut Champagne
"Some wines just have it all, and the Ace of Spades Gold Brut sure is an example of this. One of the most iconic Champagnes with a reputation that precedes itself, this bad boy is owned by Jay Z and definitely lives up to it's expectation.
The palate displays crisp, fruity notes of apricot and peach with hints of brioche - absolutely delicious. Not only are you getting a luxurious gold bottle but you are getting some damn good wine, too."
NV Armand de Brignac “Ace of Spades” Gold Brut - Champagne, France
"The nose is full of flavours and rich with notes of white flowers and crème patissière. However, the palate is crisp, fresh and delicate with a lovely creamy texture. It is elegant, refined and very stylish... It’s a pleasant combination of power and concentration blended with finesse and elegance."
Decanter (95 points)
Vintage Billecart-Salmon Masterclass with Sebastien Papin
When we arrived at Neo Cafe & Eatery to finish the last touches for our Vintage Billecart-Salmon Champagne Masterclass, we knew instantly that we had made the right decision in choosing this venue for the occasion.
Heading up the escalator of Queen Street's Queen's Arcade, we were lead to the bright and spacious restaurant with all doors wide open to the terrace. We noticed the decor and ambience of elegance without being over powering or old fashioned - a perfect match to the Champagne we were about to taste.
Our account manager Matt Haussrer arrived with Sebastien Papin, Billecart-Salmon's Asia Pacific Ambassador, followed by the guests who were all very much looking forward to the extra special Champagne afternoon.
The diversity of guests, from private to representatives of restaurants, hotels and corporate created an incredible atmosphere.
When all the guests sat down, they were given the 200th Anniversary brochure, and we introduced Sebastien to them all. To the guests pleasure, our staff started filling up the glasses.
Sebastien began his presentation with the beautiful and well known Brut Rosé, followed by the aperitif style 2007 Extra Brut and then the NV Premier Cru Sous Bois.
After a short 5 minute break, whilst everybody talked about the Champagne we had just enjoyed, Sebastien carried on introducing the wine dedicated to the original winemaker and brother of Elisabeth Salmon: 2006 Cuvée Louis Blanc de Blancs.
He then introduced the "married couple" wines dedicated to Elisabeth Salmon and Nicolas Billecart, whose romance was the beginning of this Champagne house's story: 2002 Cuvèe Nicolas François along side 2006 Cuvèe Elisabeth Rosè.
The canapès thoughtfully created by Neo were superb and perfectly matched to each Champagne.
The order forms were given to each guest which allowed us to join them and relive the wonders of these wines.
The NV Premier Cru Sous Bois, the NV Blanc de Blancs and the Cuvèe Nicolas François were the top scorers and favourites of the delightful afternoon.
Bringing in 2019 with Wine, Sunsets & Tropical Islands
Another year, and another celebration of good food, wine and island life at Vomo in Fiji.
I hit the ground running with a La Marca Prosecco cocktail demonstration at the legendary Rocks Bar. Such was our inventive flair that we invented a whole new cocktail - The La Marca Sparkler. One part elderflower cordial, one part gin, one part lemon juice, topped with La Marca Prosecco and garnished with cucumber. This drink was made for afternoons by the beach!
The following evening, with a magnificent sunset behind us, we worked through the exceptional Rosé wines from Sacha Lichine and we discovered a new equation in the process:
Whispering Angel + Sunset + Vomo = Divine!
..and then onto the big one - a New Year's Eve degustation. New chef Michael Fossbender was immense and designed an exceptional menu. For me the ‘hit’ of the night was the most simple - a natural oyster with a sip of great Chablis. C’etait incredible!
NYE MENU
Apperetif
NV Billecart-Salmon Brut Reserve
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Something Small
Natural Oyster | Ginger & Tarragon Vinegar | Fresh Shallot
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To Start
Tuna & Toasted Sesame Tataki | Bush Lemon & Mint Sorbet | Passionfruit Butter Mayonnaise | Basil & Kaffir Glass | Salmon Caviar
Both served with 2015 Domaine Testut Chablis, Montee de Tonnerre
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To Follow
Local Fijian Prawn | Raspberry Vinaigrette | Pink Grapefruit & Peach Salsa | Long Beans | Roast Fennel Bulb | Dill
Served with 2017 Caves D’Esclans Whispering Angel Rosé
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Palate Cleanser
Cointreau & Cucumber Granita
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Main Event
Pan Seared Duckbreast | Beet & Anise Puree | Twice Cooked Dalo | Honey Cinnamon Glazed Baby Carrots | Orange Vanilla Jus | Raw Baby Beets | Basil
Served with 2014 Stag’s Leap Hands of Time Red Blend
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To Finish
Chocolate & Mango Delight | Brownie | Mango Mousse | Chocolate Mousse | Candied Vanilla Bean | Soursop Sorbet | Chocolate Soil | Isomalt | Gold Dust
Served with NV Billecart-Salmon Sous Bois
And so NYE came and went, and then it was 2019. The blue skies shone. A simple toast to the New Year - a celebration of 200 years of Maison Billecart-Salmon as we saluted the 1st day of the year with these beautiful Champagnes.
The week rolled on and we opened a few more gems for happy patrons including a Magnum of the 2015 Ogier Clos de l’oartoire des Papes Chateuneufdupape, NV Champagne André Clouet from Bouzy and Mac Forbes RS19 Riesling.
Life can be bitter, life can be sweet - The perfect life is bitter and sweet.
A bientot, Vomo.
- Puneet
