WINEMAKER'S NOTES:
Fine bubbles which rise slowly, persistent mousse. Straw-colored. A nose of ripe pear with some touches of cut hay. Full fruit, but clean in the mouth. All wines from the best sites in the department of the Marne, from more than twenty top vineyards in Champagne. The overall composition of this cuvée has not changed much for almost fifty years.
Fresh and long tasting, the Brut Réserve may be drunk on all occasions.
Blend: 40% Pinot Meunier, 30% Pinot Noir, 30% Chardonnay
TASTING NOTES:
Lovely aromas of raspberries, gingerbread, toast and honey on the nose. I like the generosity and concentration of flavor on the palate, with a medium body and soft, creamy bubbles. Long finish. 43% meunier, 29% chardonnay and 28% pinot noir, with over 50% reserve wines. Blend of 15 vintages, with percentages based on the 2020 vintage, back to 2006.
- James Suckling, 93 pts.
Based on the 2020 vintage (the youngest vintage serves as the “base” of a bottling, even if it does not represent the majority of the blend) and incorporating 71% reserve wines—half stored as individual vintages and the other half as a perpetual reserve initiated in 2006—Billecart-Salmon’s latest NV Le Réserve is showing nicely. It offers aromas of green pear, honeysuckle, brioche and white peach. Disgorged in early 2024 with a dosage of three grams per liter, this reimagined cuvée has recently undergone a significant reduction in dosage. The sweetness that so often presents itself on the finish of NV Champagnes from Grandes Marques is no more. Medium to full-bodied, lively and charming, with a textural attack and vibrant acidity, it culminates in a long, precise finish.
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, 91 pts.
A harmonious Champagne that's satiny in texture, framing flavors of Asian pear, star fruit, pastry and honey with mouthwatering acidity. Offers a fine and creamy finish. Drink now through 2021.
- Wine Spectator, 91 pts.
The first wine tasted in a short vertical to highlight the evolution of the NV Champagne Brut over the past several years, this release is from the 2016 vintage and is composed of 44% Meunier and 28% each Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with 64% reserve wine, with 4% cask aging. Pouring a rich straw hue, it opens to generous and lightly toasty aromas of ripe red berries, caramel, and honeycomb. Medium to full-bodied, it’s ripe, rounded, expressive, and approachable, although it feels the touch of dosage in its texture as well as the suggestion of sweetness. Its fruit is ripe and long on the palate, with a hint of walnut skin on the long finish. It is certainly the classic, old school style, and compared to the other wines, has a bit broader shoulders. Its toasty touch likely comes from the malolactic fermentation that was permitted as opposed to oak.
- Jeb Dunnuck, 90 pts.
