"So aromatic. Full-bodied, really intense + layered w/ super dryness + depth. Lots of saline + spicy character at the end / hints of flowers..."
-James Suckling, 98 Points

"A superb vintage of this renowned prestige cuvée... Despite ageing on its lees for 10 years, it remains almost shockingly youthful, its vividly primary flavours of red cherry, strawberry + nectarine / silky in texture + intricately complex on the long, elegantly harmonious finish."
-Decanter, 98 Points

"Explodes from the glass with a mesmerizing array of aromas, flavors and textures. Blood orange, cinnamon, mint and dried flowers / incredibly young, but it is also incredibly tempting"
-Vinous, 97+ Points

"one of the finest wines I've tasted from Billecart in recent years / full-bodied, deep + vinous, w/lovely mid-palate amplitude, terrific concentration + bright girdling acids / a dramatic, fleshy wine that concludes w/ a long, flavorful finish."
-Wine Advocate, 97+ Points
  • RARE. Only the 4th vintage ever made. Micro production. Made only in the best vintages, from Grand Cru vineyards

  • 2008 = Among greatest Champagne vintages

  • Aged on the lees for 10 YEARS. Ready to drink now through 2050

  • 9% of this Champagne is red wine from a tiny plot of 80-Year-Old Pinot Noir adjacent to Clos des Goisses (of Philipponnat fame)

  • Our #1 Selling Champagne house for Over a Decade

  • A few rare MAGNUMS left

  • Only 30 bottles left
Hello dear friends,

For the reasons outlined above, you know this will certainly be listed among the greatest vintage Rose Champagnes releases in history.

Created in 1988 as a tribute to Elisabeth Salmon, one of the House’s founders, this cuvée is set apart by its radiance, refined purity as well as unique character.

9% of the blend this year is red wine from “Valofroy” - a miniscule 80-year-old Pinot Noir vineyard in the village of Mareuil sur Ay, right next to the legendary Clos des Goisses, on the slopes of Mareuil-Sur-Aÿ and which benefit from a south-facing exposure. While this gives this beautiful Champagne it's stunning color, it also adds spectacular depth and structure that's reminiscent of a great Cotes de Nuits Burgundy.

They age this on it's lees for 10 years minimum before release. 17% of the wine is fermented and matured in 15 year-old oak barrels for added layers of beauty and structure. The house keeps their 'perfect' dosage level of 7g/l which defines Billecart's universally loved style.

In case you haven't heard yet, 2008 was a phenomenally great vintage for Champagne, as you can see in this quote from Antonio Galloni:

"The 2008s are racy, energetic and tense, in the style of cool years like 1996, but with more fruit depth and less austerity. At the top end, the finest 2008 Champagnes are viscerally thrilling, chiseled wines that will soon be recognized as modern-day icons. Temperatures were never too hot during the summer and ripening was gradual. 2008 is a year with high acidity, approaching 10% in some cases, and also high potential natural alcohol (because of the improved weather in September), a combination that yielded vibrant, crystalline Champagnes. Of course wine is much more complex than numbers alone, but the first 2008s I have tasted point to an exceptional, and perhaps even legendary, vintage."

From Tom Stevenson (co-author of the Christie’s World Encyclopedia of Champagne & Sparkling Wine and founder of the Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships):

“2008 is one of the greatest champagne vintages of my lifetime...So fine and focused, unbelievably long, with great precision, purity and intensity, yet barely perceptible weight.”

Alastair Woolmer of Farr Vintners had this to say:
“From what I have seen so far, 2008 is the best young champagne vintage I have ever tasted...The 2008s have a very similar energy and intensity to the great 1996s, but with arguably better balance and more consistency. It could well prove to be the best champagne vintage since 1988.”

Most of the important 2008s have been completely sold out for years by now.

We have 30 bottles left, as well as 4 preciously-rare 1.5L magnums. Please do move promptly!

Cheers!
—James Tran
2008 Billecart-Salmon 'Cuvee Elisabeth Salmon' Brut Rose Champagne
 
98 Points - James Suckling:
"This is very vinous with aromas of iron, strawberries, old roses and geraniums. So aromatic. Full-bodied, really intense and layered with super dryness and depth. Lots of saline and spicy character at the end, such as clove and pepper, as well as hints of flowers and melted butter. Strawberry tart at the end. 17% in aged oak casks. Blend of 55% pinot noir from six villages (Mareuil sur Ay, Ay, Bouzy, Ambonnay, Verzenay and Verzy) and 45% chardonnay from three Grand Crus (Mesnil sur Oger, Cramant and Chouilly). 9% of the blend is red wine from a parcel in the village of Mareuil sur Ay. Bottled June 2009 and disgorged July 2019. Drink or hold." (June 2, 2021)
 
98 Points - Decanter:
"A superb vintage of this renowned prestige cuvée, this is made from a base of 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay, to which is added 9% of red wine. Despite ageing on its lees for 10 years, it remains almost shockingly youthful, its vividly primary flavours of red cherry, strawberry and nectarine wrapped up in a taut, tense frame. It’s silky in texture and intricately complex on the long, elegantly harmonious finish, underlined by a saline chalkiness, and it demonstrates all the requisite completeness and character for long ageing, promising a slow and dignified evolution to come. Drinking Window 2021 - 2050." —Peter Liem (3/13/2021)

97+ Points - Vinous:
"The 2008 Brut Rosé Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon explodes from the glass with a mesmerizing array of aromas, flavors and textures. Blood orange, cinnamon, mint and dried flowers. The 2008 is incredibly young, but it is also incredibly tempting. Patience will be rewarded. In the meantime, readers might enjoy adding a few bottles of the stellar 2007 to their cellars, as the nervy, taut 2008 needs time. The 2008 is 55% Pinot Noir (from Aÿ, Verzy, Verzenay and Mareuil) and 45% Chardonnay (from Chouilly, Avize and Cramant), with 9% still wine from Mareuil. It is the first vintage that includes a portion of wines (17%) done in barrel and the first vintage in which the magnums were aged on the cork rather than on crown seal. Dosage is 7 grams per liter." (AG) (Mar 2021)

97+ Points - Wine Advocate:
"Disgorged with seven grams per liter dosage, the 2008 Brut Rosé Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon is one of the finest wines I've tasted from Billecart in recent years. Unwinding in the glass with aromas of peach, mandarin oil, warm bread, red berries and petals, it's full-bodied, deep and vinous, with lovely mid-palate amplitude, terrific concentration and bright girdling acids. In what is quite a tightly wound vintage and from a house whose style is rather understated, this is a dramatic, fleshy wine that concludes with a long, flavorful finish." - William Kelley (Sep 23, 2021)
  • 30 bottles left
  • 4 magnums left

Retail Price: $275.00 btl
Average Online Price: $240.00 btl
Our Sale:

  • $219.99 btl (750 mL)
  • $469.99 btl (Magnum)
5 sets left:

Billecart-Salmon 'La Vie en Roses' Duo Gift Box
Contains 1x bottle each
  • Only 5 sets left
  • The non-vintage Rose has been sold out for over a year.

$349.97 /set
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