Billecart-Salmon "Sous Bois" Brut Champagne

Fermented in wood with a touch of spice and toast on the palate, this Champagne is beautifully textured and structured. The Chardonnay gives the wine a steely edge that suggests the bottling could age, so wait to drink this very fine wine from 2023. (RV) (12/2022)

The NV Champagne Sous Bois Brut pours a medium yellow to deeper straw hue, and the nose is warming and more generous with notes of toast, red fruit of ripe raspberry, spice, and espresso. The palate is rounded, with rich texture though dry, offering notes of orange peel and currant. It has a silky texture and a fairly long finish, with ripe concentration. (AF) (11/2022)

Attractive and complex nose of salted almonds, apricots, figs, raspberries and white chocolate. Tangy green apples, too. Fine bubbles here, with vibrant acidity and sleek, integrated layers. Dry and rich yet all in balance. Equal parts chardonnay, pinot noir and meunier, with about 30% reserve wines. Aged six years on lees. (3/2023)

Flavors of baked pineapple, chopped black cherry, grilled nut and pickled ginger expand on the palate of this expressive Champagne backed by a firm spine of integrated acidity. Fine like raw silk on the palate, and the lightly mouthwatering finish carries accents of lime blossom, chalk and oyster shell. (AN) (11/2021)

Based on the 2014 vintage, the NV Brut Sous Bois derives from old vines, most of which are massale selections, vinified in old barrels. Wafting from the glass with aromas of green apple and crisp white peach mingled with freshly baked bread, buttery pastry, toasted nuts and flowers, it's medium to full-bodied, taut and chalky, with a crisp core of fruit underpinned by a tangy spine of acidity. A serious, tightly wound wine, even after seven years sur lattes, it will reward a bit of additional age on cork. (WK) 92+ (8/2022)

The base wine for this blend is fermented and aged in old, neutral oak barrels, the wine aged on the lees for more than six years in bottle. Those factors contribute to its toasty richness, and add potency to its earthy savor. It’s a firmly structured wine built for oysters roasted in a wood oven. (12/2020)

A baby brother to Clos St-Hilaire, 100% barrel-fermented. One-third of each variety from selected parcels – older, lower-yielding parcels tend to be chosen for the Sous Bois. 52% grand cru grapes, 16% premier cru (across the whole portfolio; their Meunier isn’t grand or premier cru). One-third reserve wine. Malo blocked. Long lees-ageing (6–7 years). Slightly oxidative style – the most oxidative they make. A richer mouthfeel as well as real bite. A savoury and yeasty note on the nose – almost slight Marmite (yeast extract). The oak is very well integrated and just frames the wine – the subtle note of spice comes in on the finish – slightly cedary note? 17+/20 points (AC) (10/2021)