Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé

One of the attractions and surprises on offer at the 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris was champagne. In particular, the Syndicat du Commerce du Vin de Champagne (an organisation that predated the current A.O.C. Champagne) was one of the funders of the Champagne Palace, within the Agriculture and Food Pavilion, which acted as a showcase for this famous sparkling wine made in northwest France. One of the bottles they opened at this event were those made by Billercart-Salmon.

Today, seven generations later, Billecart-Salmon remains an icon. It dates back to 1818 when Nicolas François Billecart married Elisabeth Salmon. This union was the beginning of these sparkling wines, one if which is Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé.

This champagne, considered for years as inferior and not very prestigious, was revived in 1970 by Jean Roland-Billecart. Today it is one of the house’s flagship wines. “The first time I had the opportunity to taste the Brut Rosé cuvée was a long time ago, with Alain Passard (three Michelin star chef). The first thing I liked was that it tasted like wine. You can tell that behind this champagne there is a good wine,” says Pierre Hermé, master pastry chef (considered the best in the world).

Billercart-Salmon Brut Rosé is made from 300 hectares between the Montagne de Reims, the Côte des Blancs and the Marne Valley. In this area, located just at the northern limit for vine growing (Reims is at 49º5 latitude north while the limit for growing quality grapes in the northern hemisphere is at 50º latitude), it is influenced by a two climates: mostly by the oceanic climate (with high rainfall), but also a touch of continental climate (hot summers and winters with frost). Within this complexity, its slate soil is the key element, with a porosity that turns it into a natural water reservoir that helps the vines even in the hottest summers. Known as water stress, this will force the plant to make extra effort, which will result in high quality grapes with a perfect balance between acids and sugar, and later, in the winery, all of them will be vinified under the house motto: “quality first, aiming for perfection”.

This is achieved in Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé through a technology that uses the cold to maintain all the expressiveness, nuances and characteristics of the terroir. Always individually and separately, the batches from each plot are racked and fermented at low temperature, in small stainless steel tanks, which will guarantee a slow process where the aromas are extracted and the maximum expression of the varieties is retained. However, Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé’s journey does not end here. Following malolactic fermentation and a secondary fermentation in the bottle, Billercart-Salmon Brut Rosé will spend 36 months in the winery. The last place where Billecart-Salmon Brut Rosé rests is in the cellars; caves dug into the chalk soil with the perfect atmosphere for this champagne to reach the excellence we have become used to.