NV NV Billecart-Salmon Sous Bois Brut

Crafted around the 2018 vintage, the NV Champagne Le Sous Bois is a blend of 33% Meunier, 39% Chardonnay, and the remainder Pinot Noir, with 37% reserve wine, the oldest part from 2006. A copper straw color, entirely barrel-fermented in cask, it reveals notes of smoky wet stones, toasted croissant, orange citrus, baked peach, almond, frangipane, and salty earth. Full-bodied yet savory, it offers a mouthwatering and brothy character while remaining fresh and youthful, without transitioning into oxidation. It’s very appealing now but should have no problem showing its best over the coming 10 years. 3 grams per liter dosage. The Billecart-Salmon wines in this report were tasted with Cellar Master Florent Nys at the estate in Maureuil-sur-Aÿ. Alongside Mathieu Roland-Billecart, who assumed the position of CEO at this estate in 2019 and represents the seventh generation in his family, they are making notable and steady-handed improvements that are starting to shine. A full conversion to organic viticulture has been completed in the monopole vineyard of Clos Saint-Hillaire, with an emphasis on taking things even further in terms of biodiversity and experimentation with biodynamics. They have also taken steps toward further transparency regarding dosage, but recognizing that dosage is only part of the story, they have been including the total residual sugar of the wine in addition to what was added after disgorgement. They source from approximately 300 hectares of vines, a third of which they own, and those 100 hectares have also been certified organic as of 2024. French and Stockinger barrels with medium toast are purchased new and seasoned in-house for three to five years before use. About 80% of production is fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks. Only the finest plots are fermented in barrels at cold temperatures before being transferred to stainless steel tanks for aging, a process that typically takes no more than six months. For this year’s release of Le Rendez-Vous, the estate has offered two expressions of 100% Meunier with No. 7 and No. 8. Both wines highlight the same vintage of 2018 but the expression of two different terroirs. No. 7 comes from Venteuil on the right bank of Vallée de la Marne, soils rich in clay and the rest chalk, with south exposition there. The No. 8 is from the left bank of the Valle de la Marne in Leuvrigny, where the soil is chalk with an east exposure, meaning it is fresher by comparison. Disgorged the same day, the two wines were aged for 63 months on the lees. In the cellar, they blocked malolactic fermentation in No. 7 due to its already rich character after alcoholic fermentation, but allowed it in No. 8, as it was fresher and more vertical in character.

Heavily based on the 2017 vintage (with 34% reserve wines dating back to 2006), fermented at low temperatures and entirely vinified in oak, the NV Le Sous Bois blends fruit from vast areas of Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne and Côte des Blancs (notably Oger, Chouilly and Cramant). Disgorged with a dosage of five grams per liter in spring 2023, after five years of lees aging, it reveals aromas of green apple, vanilla, peach and toasted nuts, mingling with hints of caramelized sugar. On the palate, it is medium to full-bodied, precise and fine-boned, featuring a youthful fruit core supported by vibrant acidity, with subtle bitter phenolics asserting themselves on the finish. Given the challenges of the growing season, it incorporates a higher proportion of Chardonnay than usual.

Composed of 48% Pinot Noir, 32% Chardonnay, and the rest Meunier, the NV Champagne Sous Bois is always aged on lees for five years. Made with 26% reserve wine and two grams per liter dosage, it pours a touch deeper golden straw color and is aromatic of fresh baked bread, marzipan, peaches, and marmalade. It’s not as oaky as I’d remembered it from previous tastings, with the blend feeling more harmonious and integrated. Full-bodied but not overly opulent, it fills the palate with a supple richness although it’s fully dry, and its nuttiness is still present but doesn’t dominate the wine. It would be paired exceptionally well with Comte cheese. 2 grams per liter of dosage, disgorged the second quarter of 2023. Drink 2024-2040.