Billecart-Salmon Le Clos Saint-Hilaire in Wooden Gift Box 2003

  • 100 James
    Suckling
  • 98 Wine
    Enthusiast
Sold Out - was $499.99
OFFER Take $20 off your order of $100+
Ships Thu, Apr 4
You purchased this 5/7/23
0
Limit Reached
You purchased this 5/7/23
Alert me about new vintages and availability
Billecart-Salmon Le Clos Saint-Hilaire in Wooden Gift Box 2003  Front Bottle Shot
Billecart-Salmon Le Clos Saint-Hilaire in Wooden Gift Box 2003  Front Bottle Shot Billecart-Salmon Le Clos Saint-Hilaire in Wooden Gift Box 2003 Front Label

Product Details


Varietal

Region

Producer

Vintage
2003

Size
750ML

ABV
12.5%

Features
Green Wine

Your Rating

0.0 Not For Me NaN/NaN/N

Somm Note

Winemaker Notes

This unique Blanc de Noirs cuvée bears the name of the patron saint of Mareuil-sur-Ay. This one-hectare clos adheres to strict standards: a single, enclosed, undivided plot of land, with a complete winemaking facility on site. This astonishingly characteristic single-variety Champagne has all the qualities expected of a truly great, deep, unique vin de garde.

The distinctive character of a sunny year combined with an early harvest has produced a very deep golden yellow hue. A luminous radiance, with persistent, ultra-fine bubbles. A noble, elegant expression and an extremely complex, vinous impact on the nose (candied citrus fruit, crushed hazelnut and almond, mild tobacco). Develops with a resplendently honeyed expansiveness featuring nuts and aromatic spices.

The 2003 Vintage shows an ample texture on the palate with the patina of oak aging and hints of yellow fruit in syrup (Williams pear and fresh quince) and panettone. A richness overflowing with flavors (roasted pineapple, puffed buckwheat and precious woods). The generosity of this wine transports the finish to rooty, mineral realms, with an attractive saline character. This rare vintage of unique, monumental character will consist of no more than 1000 bottles. When served chilled, this microcuvee will surprise your palate when served with a rod-fished bass, shellfish and Ossetra caviar.

Professional Ratings

  • 100
    This is an extraordinary Champagne with super density and richness, yet it’s so formed and fresh. Full-bodied with layers and layers of fruit. It’s sort of a beast! But absolutely fascinating and hard to describe. Mind-blowing! Purity and chic. This was a tiny crop of one third from this one-hectare vintage. 1,000 bottles made. Drink or hold.
  • 98
    This great single-vineyard Champagne is from an atypical Champagne vintage. The heat waves that punctuated the 2003 summer produced wines that are often full. In this case, though, plenty of the magic of Pinot Noir in a privileged site remains, with a taut, structured wine, full of ripe fruits but with intense acidity. Drink this beautiful wine now and well into the future.
Billecart-Salmon

Billecart-Salmon

View all products
Billecart-Salmon, France
Billecart-Salmon Winery Video

Oldest continuously family-owned House, Billecart-Salmon was founded in 1818 by the marriage of Nicolas Francois Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon. For over two hundred years, the House has developed a renowned expertise in crafting fine, elegant and balanced Champagnes.

Billecart-Salmon was first and foremost the result a union between Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon who, in 1818 and just married, founded their own Champagne House in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, a small village near Epernay. At their side was Louis Salmon, Elisabeth’s brother and a passionate oenologist who, from the very beginning, dedicated himself to the development of the wines. From then on, their heirs have never stopped aiming for excellence in winemaking. Today led by seventh generation Mathieu Roland-Billecart, each family member has endeavored to pursue the family tradition and stay faithful to the same motto: "give priority to quality, strive for excellence."

Billecart-Salmon rigorously cultivates an estate of 100 hectares, sourcing grapes from an area totaling 300 hectares across 40 crus of the Champagne region.

The majority of the grapes used for vinification come from a radius of 20km around Epernay, where the Grand Crus of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay co-exist, in the vineyards of the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs. 

As part of the quest to increase the quality of their champagnes, in the 1950s, the House introduced the technique of cold settling combined with the use of stainless steel tanks for a longer fermentation at a lower temperature. Vinification occurs primarily on small thermoregulated tanks which allows the House to vinify parcels separately, preserving nuances of expression of "terroir". Low temperature fermentation slows down the process, encouraging aromas to delicately develop and allow the purity of the fruit to be fully expressed; absolute signature of the Billecart-Salmon style: finesse, elegance and balance.

Over three years of ageing on lees in the chalk cellars for the non-vintage cuvees and over ten year for the prestige vintage cuvees, the family allows their wines to blossom. Giving the luxury of time to play its role is also behind the grandeur of Billecart-Salmon champagnes.

Image for Vintage content section
View all products

Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.

Image for Champagne Wine France content section
View all products

Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.

Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.

With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’

CHMBLT3502903_2003 Item# 660583

Internet Explorer is no longer supported.
Please use a different browser like Edge, Chrome or Firefox to enjoy all that Wine.com has to offer.

It's easy to make the switch.
Enjoy better browsing and increased security.

Yes, Update Now

Search for ""