Salmon Run
Billecart-Salmon
Le Clos Saint-Hilaire Brut Blanc de Noirs 2005
Billecart-Salmon
Grand Cru Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne
This is the Blanc de Blanc Grand Cru with fruit sourced from Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger from mostly the 2017 vintage and some from the 2016 vintage. Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The NV BdB Grand Cru pours a light straw color with a persistent mousse. On the nose, the wine is youthful with notes of tart fruit: green apple, star fruit, split almonds, limestone minerals. On the palate, the wine is bone dry with high acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is medium+. This is super fresh and easy to love, in the house style. Drink now but could easily be cellared for years. Disgorged Q2 of 2023. — 2 months ago
Fox Run Vineyards
Finger Lakes Dry Riesling 2019
Nice balance, dry/acid with some buttery mouth feel — 3 months ago
Billecart-Salmon
Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Brut Rosé Champagne 2015
So this is not exactly Elizabeth. It is the same fruit that goes into the Elizabeth, but they made it only as a vintage. They did not put the Elizabeth name on it. There reason is, they believed it wouldn’t last two generations.
As a vintage, it is better than their N/V but not up to most Elizabeth’s I’ve had. However, it is about half the price of Elizabeth w/o less than half the quality.
It was a bit better than 93, 93.4 so I rounded down. — a month ago
Ruinart
Dom Ruinart Brut Rosé Champagne Blend 2007
Paired perfectly with sockeye salmon and a summer dinner in the back deck.
Super smooth and some nice strawberry and floral flavors coming out. — 13 days ago
Domaine Tempier
Bandol Rosé Blend 2023
Very light salmon in color.
Strong nose of limes, grapefruits, light red fruits, citrus, green apples, earth and minerals.
Medium bodied with medium acidity. Crisp and refreshing.
Dry on the palate with light strawberries, limes, grapefruits, bitter herbs and earth.
Tangy finish with limes and light earth.
This is a refreshing Rosé from Bandol. Well balanced and easy drinking. Showing nice complexity with a soft mouthfeel.
Still young, and needs a few years in the bottle to mature properly, but already starting to drink very nicely.
Good by itself or with food.
91 points.
$50. — 14 days ago
Vanessa
Prior notes continue to apply…
When we visited Billecart-Salmon in October of 2021, we received a tour of the stunning estate. Along the way, our guide, Jerome, paused near a traditional “Clos” (a single vineyard, enclosed by a wall) on the property.
We could see a beautiful stone wall, surrounding a tiny 1 hectare parcel of “Clos Saint Hilaire,” named after the Patron Saint of the local church in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, where Billecart-Salmon is located.
Although we didn’t go into the Clos, we learned about how special this parcel is to the family; how it’s exclusively planted to Pinot Noir with vines dating back to 1964; how work in the vineyard is performed by hand and horse-drawn plows; how this parcel is farmed according to an age-old savoir-faire, adhering to principles of sustainable viticulture.
The wine is pale gold with a prominent bouquet of yellow apple, Anjou pear, raspberry, lemon curd, white peach, white blossom, desiccated white rose, wet stones, biscuit, brioche, almond paste, marzipan, crusty croissant, pie crust, toast, creamy texture and persistent, fine-beaded mousse and long elegant finish.
This is a 2005 “Blanc de Noirs” Champagne, comprised of 100% Pinot Noir, all coming from Le Clos Saint Hilaire, vinified entirely in oak casks to lend texture and body, and aged 170 months (more than 14 years!) sur lie prior to its recent release. Due to the vineyard’s small size, production is very limited, and wine only produced in the best vintages.
Cheers to beautiful wines expressing a singularity of time and place!
Billecart-Salmon Le Clos Saint Hilaire (2005). — 6 hours ago