Billecart-Salmon

Founded in 1818 by husband and wife Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon, the Billecart-Salmon House is rich with history. For nearly two hundred years, the Billecart family has been handing down the secrets to making exceptional champagne from generation to generation. Heirs of an ancestral savoir-faire, the whole family knows that it is their duty to uphold this quality requirement.

From the Côte des Blancs to the ReimsMountain, not forgetting the right bank of the MarneRiver, the greatest vintages of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier blossom.  The Billecart-Salmon House covers around 50 hectares, and gets its grapes from a total of 220 hectares of land. Frequently cited for the quality of its vintages, the House pays particular attention to selecting the best grapes.

At the foot of the Mareuil-sur-Aÿ hill, the family cultivates one hectare of Pinot Noir on a single, enclosed parcel. It is called Clos Saint-Hilaire. The magic of the terroir combined with human skills have given rise to a wine which is particularly renowned for the complexity and rarity of its aromas. For all of its heirs, it represents an authentic treasure that they all must honour and preserve.

Harvest after harvest, the Billecart family has forged close and courteous relationships with the winegrowers of the Champagne region. Here, everyone knows that they have a time-honoured savoir-faire. They all share the same determination to create a product unlike any other.

On a never-ending quest for excellence, the Billecart-Salmon House has always used modern and innovative technology to constantly improve the quality of its champagne. Here, the most talented cellar masters have always followed one after the other.  They ensure the conformity of the flavours and finesse of the blends. Drawing on its traditions, the Billecart-Salmon House has chosen to make some of its wines in small Burgundy barrels. The bottles are then aged in a vast network of cellars, dating back to the 17^th and 19^th centuries. Carved out of the very chalk, these cellars keep the bottles at a constantly cool temperature – about 12° – so that extremely fine bubbles can be formed.

Indifferent to fleeting trends, yet in tune with its era, the Billecart-Salmon House has always taken care to ensure that it merits the praises of sommeliers and great chefs, genuine taste connoisseurs.

Today, it is not without a certain pride that the House, independent since its founding, has assigned the seventh generation of enthusiasts to its helm; an enthusiasm that the family members strive today to spread throughout the world.

Shared by Helene Landais