Champagne Dreams
We’ve made it to France! Our first few days were spent happily in Champagne, driving through the narrow towns that climb up and down hillsides. We visited with winemakers from some of our favorite Champagne houses—Billecart-Salmon, Philippe Gonet, Launois, Franck Bonville, and Aspasie. We tasted their wines, met their families, and dined together.
During these first two days, I was able to meet some of the people K&L has forged the deepest relationships with in the region—and some of the wines that I have on regular rotation at home. I had the great fortune to be guided by Gary, our 20+-year Champagne Buyer who knows the region like the back of his hand (GPS strictly forbidden when Gary’s in the car). We were welcomed into the homes and cellars of many winemakers, and by then end of the trip we were embracing like old friends. But aside from being lovely people, their wines are exquisitely made, with generations of experience in each family.
Our first stop in Champagne was a visit with Mathieu Roland-Billecart of Champagne Billecart-Salmon, a house that we’ve loved since the beginning of K&L. In fact, they were featured in our very first newsletter in 1978, and we once carried a K&L cuvée of Billecart. Mathieu is the seventh-generation to make the family’s wine, and he leads the tasting panel that vigorously assesses the quality and creates the blends for the final cuvées. This is a Grand Marque house that has been around for 200 years and is beloved by critics, somms, and connoisseurs alike—and the wines indeed are excellent—but Mathieu was down to earth and repeatedly expressed how much more important building relationships is than being in every 3-star restaurant. They have managed to build a powerful international reputation without the flash and glitz associated with some of the other houses; they did it by making complex, elegant wines that balance depth and tension seamlessly. And they do it intuitively: Mathieu says, “It’s not about the numbers, it’s about the taste.”
Their NV Brut Nature is an example of this. With warmer vintages and riper fruit on the regular, a Brut Nature no longer has to mean utter austerity. It has breadth and toasty bread notes buttressed by chalky tones and a driving acidity. It draws a lot of its depth from reserve wines that range from 2006 to 2015, and a blend of Meunier (40%), Chardonnay (30%), and Pinot Noir (30%). The Brut Rosé is what many Billecart fans go gaga for. It’s so pretty and expressive, with fresh strawberries and rose petal notes leading to a juicy, mouthwatering palate. Mathieu calls this the “Princess of Rosé.” The next one, he calls the “Queen.” And all hail the Queen. The 2008 Cuvée Elisabeth rosé is show stopping, and we will be among the first to get this allocation. It has so much richness on the palate, layers of honeyed, spiced fruit and that glorious minerality again—it’s setting a new benchmark for Rosé Champagne.
Our next tasting was an al fresco affair with the very charming Chantal Gonet, great-granddaughter and current proprietor of Philippe Gonet, from the village of Mesnil where 100% of the vineyards are grand cru. Her 2008 Belemnita is from vines planted in 1929 behind her grandmother’s house in Belemnita soil, known for having some of the world’s richest deposits of marine fossils. This is an extremely special grand cru blanc de blancs, from a vintage that Gary says is the best in his career. It’s a single-vineyard, single-vintage encapsulation of exceptional terroir—a not entirely common approach to wine in Champagne. Minerally and complex with laser acidity and notes of creamy brioche, spice, umami, and marmalade. We adore this wine at K&L, and getting to know Chantal over glasses of it was a true pleasure.
Stay tuned for more reports from the wine trail!