Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Louis Salmon Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Extra Brut 2012

Billecart-Salmon has been family-owned in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ since 1818, now in its seventh generation. Cuvée Louis Salmon carries the name of Elisabeth Salmon's brother, who worked in the cellar from day one. It is the house's Blanc de Blancs flagship: Chardonnay (100 %) from Grand Cru sites in the Côte des Blancs, with Le Mesnil-sur-Oger as the backbone, plus Cramant, Chouilly and Oiry. A quarter of the base wines fermented in oak, the rest cool in steel. 115 months on the lees, disgorged February 2023, dosage a lean 3.9 g/l. The nose offers lemon confit, nashi pear and quince over almond paste and fresh bread. Creamy and deep on the palate, with ripe acidity and chalky minerality into the long, saline finish.