Champagne Billecart-Salmon Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru, Cote des Blancs, France

A blend of Chardonnay from the 5 Grand Crus of the Cote des blancs (Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Oger, Mesnil sur Oger). Billecart-Salmon has the practice of double cold settling which they began in 1952. This involves a primary cold settling of the pressed juice for a period of 12 hours whereby the heaviest of the must solids fall to the bottom. The juice is then racked into clean tanks where it is chilled down to 2C for another 48 hours. This second and much colder settling eliminates any wild yeasts and additional heavy elements without the use of enzymes, filtering or a centrifuge. After the second racking, fermentation is initiated by adding dried yeasts and maintained at a long slow pace for up to 5 weeks in order to preserve as many delicate fruit aromas as possible. Aged 4 years in the cellar. Made with 25% reserve wines. The dosage is 5-6 g/L. Elegant creamy texture with pure citrus and brioche aromas mid-palate, great acidity, freshness and a long finish. The fruit from Cramant brings acidity and structure. Avize and Chouilly bring fruit, and Oger and Mesnil-sur-Oger bring finesse and elegance.