1996 Billecart Salmon Clos Saint Hilaire

One of the most pleasant surprises of the night, the 1996 Le Clos Saint Hilaire, is striking. Crushed flowers, mint, autumn leaves and sweet berries all lift from the glass. Sweet, pliant and generous, the 1996 shows exceptional balance and purity. I don’t see the 1996 as a super long-term ager, but it is fabulous today.

The estate’s 1996 Clos Saint-Hilaire emerges from a one hectare plot that was planted with 100% Pinot Noir in 1964. This golden-hued wine flows from the glass with extraordinary elegance. Delicate notes of biscuit, honey, acacia and roasted nuts are woven into a mousse of sublime refinement. Notes of white pepper, honey, pear and minerals appear on a finish that frames the wine with superb harmony. In 1998 the fermentations were extremely slow, and this wine saw no malolactic fermentation. This is an exceptionally fine, seamless Champagne that is a must-have wine for those lucky enough to find it . Anticipated maturity: 2008-2010. Billecart-Salmon, based in Mareuil-sur-Ay, makes wines in a style that is all about timeless elegance. These Champagnes are characterized by their supreme balance. All of the 2008 vins claires I tasted showed remarkable harmony and transparency of site. Much of the aromatic complexity of the wines can be attributed to a preference towards cold temperatures in fermentation, which keeps the wines fresh. The domaine uses Burgundian oak barrels for a portion of the wines. The exact amount of batonnage and malolactic fermentation depend on the vintage. Prior to being bottled the wines are blended in a large steel tank to insure consistency, something the estate takes very seriously. In general the non-vintage wines receive 7-9 grams of dosage, while the vintage wines have 5-7 grams, depending on the year. Among current releases, I found the 1998s to be brilliant, while the 2000s, from a much more challenging growing season, come across as less refined. The estate does not disclose disgorgement dates, but a code on the foil wrapping can be traced back to a date. Importer: Robert Chadderdon Selections, New York, NY; tel. (212) 332-4999

Billecart-Salmon's 1996 Le Clos Saint-Hilaire has lost some of its youthful exuberance and the fruit now is a touch softer than it was a few years ago. The aromatics and overall balance remain seductive and utterly compelling. To gain perspective, I tasted this next to Bollinger's Vielles Vignes Françaises and Krug's Clos d'Ambonnay. The Clos Saint-Hilaire is the most delicate, ethereal of the three, while the VVF is the darkest and most brooding, purely vinous of the wines. The Clos d'Ambonnay stands out for its laser-like minerality and intensity. It is likely to be the longest-lived of these three Blanc de Noirs.