Billecart Salmon

In Mareuil-sur-Ay, a small village surrounded by vineyards, located few kilometers from the east of Epernay, at the foot of the Montagne de Reims, there is the Billecart-Salmon Maison. The history of the House begins in 1818 when Nicolas Francois Billecart, descended from a family of winemakers rooted in Mareuil-sur-Ay since the seventeenth century, married Elisabeth Salmon.

The two families were owners of vineyards around Mareuil-sur-Ay and until 1818 they yielded all the grapes at various "negociants". With the marriage, the two farms blend giving life to the Billecart-Salmon Maison, which begins the production of its own Champagne. Today, the company is entirely managed by the same family for seven generations, faithful to the House’s motto "finesse, equilibre et elegance", with passion and expertise products Champagne. Billecart-Salmon winery owns 15 hectares of vineyards that are split into small plots, scattered in different villages of the area: Mareuil-sur-Ay (3 hectares), Damery (4 hectares), Ay (3 hectares), Mesnil-sur-Oger ( 4 hectares) and Avize (1 hectare); only from the classified land as "100% grand cru" the vintages of the winery are vinified. The cellars, just under three kilometers of underground tunnels built in 1840, are dug in a chalky soil and are characterized by around 80% constant humidity and within a temperature range between 11 and 12 degrees all year. In these rooms there are small 50 liters Cuvé, allowing the separate fermentation of musts from different vineyards, and large "pièces Bourguignonnes", 135 liters, in which 40 thousand liters of champagne age, waiting to be bottled. In the collection, an important place is rightfully owned by the Brut Reserve, but the pride of the House is definitely the "Rosé", the most representative of the Champagne House, a true leader of the category, having a fine perlage with vague taste of strawberry and raspberry, and a long finish on the palate.