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: 2008 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Louis" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

2008 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Louis" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

SKU #1604873 98 points Decanter

Outer quote mark A ripe and intense style, showing energy and vibrancy. Flinty, slightly earthy aromas that are more suggestive of long ageing in bottle. Sublime balance between salivating acidity, coy sweetness and richness. A reference for delicacy and refinement. Inner quote mark (11/2022)

96 points James Suckling

Outer quote mark Complex and rich nose of dried apricot, lemon pith, dried pineapple, praline, hazelnut, white cocoa, chalk and nutmeg. Creamy and delicious fruit here, yet it’s mineral and refined with very fine, precise bubbles. Structured, with a sharp, persistent backbone of acidity. Long and very focused. Inner quote mark (5/2022)

96 points Wine Advocate

Outer quote mark Disgorged in October 2020 with seven grams per liter dosage, the 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs Cuvée Louis Salmon is showing beautifully, unfurling in the glass with scents of crisp yellow apple and stone fruits mingled with dried white flowers, freshly baked bread, buttery pasty and mandarin oil. Full-bodied, ample and fleshy, it's a textural, racy, penetrating wine endowed with considerable cut and concentration. It's derived from the villages of Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Chouilly, with the latter accounting for some 40% of the blend. (WA) Inner quote mark (8/2022)

95 points Vinous

Outer quote mark The 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs Louis Salmon (formerly the vintage Blanc de Blancs) and named after the maison’s first cellar master, is fabulous. Rich and ample, the 2008 is beautifully resonant in the glass. It offers up an enticing mélange of lemon confit, marzipan, dried flowers and spice. It’s a terrific 2008, especially for readers looking for a relatively affordable option to some of the super high-flyers in this celebrated vintage. (AG) Inner quote mark (5/2022)

K&L Notes

This incredible 2008 is composed of only grand cru sites; 33% Cramant, 30% Chouilly, 20% Mesnil and 17% Avize. It sees more wood fermentation than past vintages, a full third, and also one third of the total has blocked malolactic fermentation for more freshness and ageing potential. Is it the best wine of the great 2008 vintage? I am not sure, but I know that it is in the running, and these wines have proved themselves to be the most ageable of all champagnes. -Gary Westby

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2008 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Louis" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

Price: $249.99

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Product Reviews:

By: Scott Beckerley | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 11/29/2022 | Send Email

At long last, this bottling has arrived. Another fantastic 2008 to add to your collection! A fragrant and delicate nose of wet stones, seashell, lemon, coconut and tangerine. A LOT going on here! On the palate, freshly cut oranges, key lime, pine nuts, minerals and bright spice. This bottling pretty much has it all and though you can enjoy it today, it will also be a welcome cellar edition. Re-tasted on 11/26 of this year and it continues to flesh out and a couple of minutes air time is very beneficial. It is starting to flesh out very nicely!

By: Lilia McIntosh | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 11/29/2022 | Send Email

Billecart-Salmon has outdone themselves with this new vintage of Cuvee Louis! I am not afraid to say it's the best Champagne for this price. It has it all: beautiful aromas of meadow flowers, white blossom, freshly baked brioche. Palate is bursting with supple citrus, hazelnut, brioche, crisp mineral notes and brisk acidity. Finish goes on forever. Balanced to perfection, it will take your breath away!

By: Gary Westby | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 6/23/2022 | Send Email

This Champagne had a white gold color that still had a flash of green after 14 years and a tight bead of dancing bubbles. I found both fresh, Puligny-Montrachet like lime and generous brioche on the nose and on the palate. This has the magic of 2008 with plenty of ripeness and expression but also huge acidity and freshness. The back end is kaleidoscopic, swelling and as long as any champagne I have ever put in my mouth. Will this be the greatest of 2008’s? It is hard to say now, but I am sure it is a contender and I am signing up right now to try it at 20, 30, 40 and even 50 years of age! Sadly, it tastes so good right now that I don’t think much will be kept.

Drink from 2022 to 2078

By: Hope Cooc | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 5/11/2022 | Send Email

I was blown away from this incredible champagne! You get bleu cheese, fennel, lemon curd, a hint of white lily, and anise on the pallet. The finish is medium with high acidity. Very delightful and worth the try!

By: Dejah Overby | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 5/4/2022 | Send Email

There is a sultry subtleness to this 2008 Billecart “Cuvee Louis” Blanc de Blancs. An abundance of exotic florals like white lilies, white Irises, and poppies come to mind. This is showing bright and lifted citruses, but Meyer lemon stands out the most, including Anjou pear, and a sprinkle of ginger, intertwined with gentle anise spice. In the end, there is a touch of white cherry and a lovely grippy finish. This is a beautiful Champagne-to cellar for 2-3 more years, but I couldn’t help to imagine how tasty this would also be with Kusshi oysters, the creamier the better for this Champagne.

By: Alex Schroeder | K&L Staff Member | Review Date: 5/4/2022 | Send Email

Every once in awhile a wine evokes the word "perfect" in my mind. This is one of those rare occasions. Made from fruit grown in the major Grand Cru Cotes de Blancs villages from one of the best vintages on record, it has an amazing nose full of layers of citrus, cream, yeasty brioche and flowers. It strikes harmonious balance between freshness, beautiful fruit, pronounced minerals, and a deep long finish. It will be awhile before we see another "Cuvée Louis" this good again.

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Additional Information:

Varietal:

Chardonnay

- It's hard to believe that up until about 30 years ago, this extremely popular varietal hid behind the veil of geographical names like Chablis and Puligny-Montrachet. Now grown all over the world and bottled by its varietal name, Chardonnay has achieved a level of branding unlike any other wine. Surprisingly, though, what you get when you buy Chardonnay can differ greatly from country to country and even within one country, depending on the climate where it's grown and how it is vinified and aged. From fresh, crisp and minerally with apple and lemon notes to rich and buttery with tropical fruit overtones, Chardonnay runs the gamut. In France's Burgundy, Chardonnay is the source of the prized wines of Chablis, Corton-Charlemagne, Mâcon, Meursault and Montrachet. It also the foundation of exceptional Champagne, where it is blended with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier or vinified on its own into Blanc de Blancs. It is also extremely popular in California, and is gaining popularity in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Spain and South Africa.

Country:

France

- When it comes to wine, France stands alone. No other country can beat it in terms of quality and diversity. And while many of its Region, Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne most obviously, produce wine as rare, as sought-after and nearly as expensive as gold, there are just as many obscurities and values to be had from little known appellations throughout the country. To learn everything there is to know about French wine would take a lifetime. To understand and appreciate French wine, one only has to begin tasting them.

Sub-Region:

Champagne

- The French region of Champagne (comprised of the towns of Rheims, Epernay, and Ay) was the first region in the world to make sparkling wine in any quantity. Today, the name of the region is synonymous with the finest of all sparkling wines, and winemaking traditions of Champagne have become role models for sparkling wine producers, worldwide. Surprisingly, the region of Champagne is now responsible for only one bottle in 12 of all sparkling wine produced. Styles of champagne range from the basic brut (often blends of several vintages), single vintage champagnes, and rose.

Alcohol Content (%):

12.5