Billecart-Salmon, Cuvee Louis Blanc de Blancs 2007

The 2007 Brut Cuvée Louis Salmon is another stellar wine from Billecart-Salmon. In many ways, it is the polar opposite of 2006. Here the team felt the wine needed body to balance the tension of the year. About half of the lots were done in barrel, while most of the wine underwent malolactic fermentation. Pretty citrus and floral notes abound. Stylistically, the 2007 is a bit more open than the 2006, even though the personalities of the two years would have suggested the exact opposite. The Louis Salmon is a blend from sites in Chouilly, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Cramant. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. (Originally published in May 2021)

The 2007 Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Louis Salmon, anchored in Chouilly and complemented by fruit from Cramant and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, saw half of the vins clairs vinified in wood, with malolactic fermentation largely blocked. Even after eight years on cork, it remains a comparatively lean rendition, emerging from the glass with aromas of lemon confit, pastry and linden blossom, mingled with hints of verbena. On the palate, it is medium-bodied, defined by taut musculature and an incisive spine of acidity that drives a long, citrus-inflected finish. While the fruit is beginning to exhibit the first nuances of evolution, the wine remains somewhat unyielding in texture and plenitude. It was disgorged in October 2018 with a dosage of seven grams per liter.

The Blanc de Blancs shows an energetic and lively bouquet of fresh orchard fruits, spring flowers and citrussy heat notes. The tense and linear palate is moderately weighted, with saline and iodine notes on the finish. This needs time to be at its best but also offers easy drinking right now. 50% vinified in barrels. No malolactic fermentation, and a dosage of 7g/l.