Based in the village of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, Billecart-Salmon is a house renowned for wines of great finesse and poise. Made most famous for its Champagne rosé, with stunning pale copper hues and savoury edge. This is one of their most prestigious cuvées, Cuvée Elisabeth from the premier vintage 2008. First produced in 1988 and named in honour of co-founder Elisabeth Salmon, this bottle is made with chardonnay and pinot noir from predominantly grand cru vineyards with over a decade in bottle, this is a small piece of Champagne history in all its grandeur, and in very short supply.
Disgorged with seven grams per litre dosage, the 2008 Brut Rosé Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon is one of the finest wines I've tasted from Billecart in recent years. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of peach, mandarin oil, warm bread, red berries, and petals, it's full-bodied, deep, and vinous, with lovely mid-palate amplitude, terrific concentration, and bright girdling acids. This is a dramatic, fleshy wine that concludes with a long, flavorful finish in what is quite a tightly wound vintage and from a house whose style is rather understated.