I do not get to taste Billecart-Salmon these days with anywhere near the frequency I once did, so I was delighted to have an opportunity to taste this bottle of their non-vintage Blanc de Blancs from the Base Year of 2014. The wine is made from fruit sources in the villages of Mesnil, Chouilly, Cramant and Avize, with the vins clairs fermented and raised in stainless steel tanks. Part of the malo is blocked in certain vintages and the wine includes up to forty percent reserve wines from the previous vintage. It was finished with a dosage of eight grams per liter and is drinking beautifully today, offering up an almost silky palate impression. The bouquet is nicely polished and quite complex, wafting from the glass in a mix of lemon, tart pear, chalky minerality, bread dough, white flowers and a topnote of citrus peel. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied and nicely mineral in personality, with a fine core of fruit, elegant mousse and a long, complex and very nicely balanced finish. This is really drinking very nicely and still has plenty of life ahead of it. (Drink between 2024-2045)

Very clean and creamy blanc de blancs showing notes of sliced apples, pie crust, lemons, oyster shells and thyme. Lovely freshness and balance, with fine, creamy bubbles and a rounded yet dry finish. Base wine 2017 with 23% of reserve wine. 1.2g/L dosage. Drink now.

The NV Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru is showing beautifully today, with aromas of confit citrus, pear, herbs, orchard fruits, pastry and brioche. Medium to full-bodied, it is round and supple with the delicate, bright tension that is the signature of Billecart-Salmon. Perfectly balanced and offering a vinous, toasty and elegantly long finish, it's based on the 2017 vintage with 23% from 2016. Vinified and matured in stainless steel, it spent five years on the lees in bottle before being disgorged with a dosage of 1.7 grams per liter. (YC)