2008 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart" NFB Brut Champagne
97JS
97WE
96RP
96VN
95DC
95JD
94WS
$229.99
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97
James Suckling
Reviewed April 2023Lovely precision and drive to this with aromas of lemon curd, brioche, praline, apricots, pomelos, mandarin zest and salted caramel. It’s held together by a sharp, citrusy backbone of acidity, balanced with a fine, silky mousse. Both structure and softness here. Citrus fruit brightness on a beautifully elegant and seamless finish.
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Professional Reviews
97
Wine Enthusiast
A blend of fruit from mainly Grand Cru vineyards, this beautiful Champagne is now fully mature. With toasty characters, touches of fresher fruit and taut acidity, the wine has a little spice from wood fermentation. It is a great Champagne ready to drink. (RV)
96
Wine Advocate
The 2008 Brut Cuvée Nicolas François was disgorged during the third quarter of 2022 with less than three grams per liter. It has a delicate, pure, clean bouquet with aromas of orchard fruits, spring flowers, honey and licorice, with hints of brioche and pastry with aeration. Medium to full-bodied, chiseled and crystalline, with racy acids and a chalky texture, the palate is tense and the finish is long, penetrating and salty. It exhibits perfect Billecart style, yet tension is present, a sign of the vintage. It is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir (sourced from Aÿ, Mareuil and Verzenay) and 40% Chardonnay from Mesnil, Chouilly and Cramant, and it matured 83% in tanks and 17% in old oak barrels. (YC)
96
Vinous
The 2008 Brut Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart remains quite potent and young. It’s starting to gain some weight, but it remains a classically austere Champagne. The fruit is reticent, and its contours are angular. The 2008 is a very good wine, but, as I have said in the past, it is a Champagne that belongs to the prior era here. Vinification was 83% in tank and 17% in oak, likely a decision made to give the wine more body in this decidedly lean vintage. Dosage is 2.9 grams per liter. Disgorged: first trimester 2022. (AG)
Staff Reviews
GW
To say that I was impressed by this wine would be an understatement. The 2008 vintage remains the greatest of my 23-year career buying champagne, and this, along with the Krug and Cuvée Louis Blanc de Blancs, also from Billecart, will be locked in a battle for the best wine of that vintage for generations to come. The wine has a beautiful light gold color, and the most gorgeous tiny streamers, both a product of the incredible patience that this house has shown in ageing this monumental cuvée. The bouquet shows off the Verzenay Pinot Noir in the blend with a fine, detailed hazelnut bread aroma that has the generosity of Richebourg. In the mouth, the wine has an autumnal style, with nougat and warm panettone notes. The finish is what sets this wine apart, and for me is the greatest feature of the wine; it manages kaleidoscopic complexity with yet more nutty depth fused to pure, clean white fruit and chalk. The back end could be from the best pure Mesnil chardonnay on the planet, and is so long and mineral that I am still haunted by it days later.
PR
Philip Roufail
Philip Roufail
Along with the 2008 Krug, the 2008 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvee Nicolas Francois Billecart" NFB Brut Champagne is already being called one of the top champagnes of the vintage, which is saying a lot because 2008 is universally considered the best vintage of the 21st century. What makes the 2008 so special in comparison to other lauded vintage years? Champagne's weather is lousy and erratic. Even in vintage years the physiological development of the grapes' ripeness and acidity can be erratic as well. In 2008, however, there was constant sunshine, which allowed the grapes to gradually ripen to perfection, and a constant cold breeze, which allowed the acidity to gradually develop to perfection at the same time! These goldilocks conditions are rare. Throw in a top producer who has been at the sparking game since 1818 and you've got the 2008 Billecart-Salmon "Cuvee Nicolas Francois Billecart" NFB Brut Champagne. Already 25 years old, this champagne is drinking beautifully, but it's going to age forever so if you're looking for a liquid prize to store in your cellar this is the one. Enjoy!
DO
Dejah Overby
Dejah Overby
Love the precision of the 2008 vintage Champagnes. This has to be in my top 5 and the best example of a stunning vintage. The aromatics are loads of mixed bowl of wild berries, candied ginger, almond butter sugar cookies and a slight oxidative end. This is exciting to drink now but I can also imagine this being even more exciting to open in the next 5 years of cellaring.
Notes
The 2008 Cuvée Nicolas François Billecart (NFB for short) is composed of almost entirely grand cru fruit, but with the addition of 17% from their home village, the premier cru of Mareuil-sur-Ay. It is 60% Pinot Noir hailing from that village, Ay, and Verzenay, and 40% Chardonnay from Mesnil, Chouilly and Cramant. It is primarily a stainless steel fermented champagne, but sees 17% oak barrel fermentation to add richness. After 13 years on the lees, it only required 2.9 g/l of dosage to come into balance. -Gary Westby, K&L
Details
| Type | Sparkling Wine |
|---|---|
| Origin | Champagne, France |
| Bottle Size | 750 mL |
| Alcohol Content | 12.5% |
| SKU | 1669353 |