March 9, 2024 - Decent bottle. The Pinot element comes through quite strongly. Fresh and dark
Enjoyable
January 27, 2024 - Nicke Brad wine/ à bit to early
January 12, 2024 - I bought this from someone I trust about 2 years ago. At the time he sold me the bottle I asked how it was…he said “it’s in a good place for now but doest have much upside.” I held it for another 2 years before finding the right occasion to open it so I didn’t have really high hopes for it. It turned out to be quite good, but slightly delicate. Despite aging since ‘06, the nose is not very intense. However, the nose is very mineral driven, lemon/lime and a touch of ripe pineapple…without much lees/brioche/toast. The restraint in winemaking is something that helps give this wine an identity. The subtle, restrained style continues on to the palate where the flavors are crushed rocks, lemon cookie, and more mineral. The finish is similarly subtle if perhaps a bit short but brings in a nice note of biscuit. Overall this champagne has great balance and its restraint comes across as rather classy and clean. I much prefer the bolder style of Jacques Selosse, Egly-Ouriet, etc. but I certainly appreciated this bottle for being a good example at the opposite end of the champagne spectrum. However, at its end of the champagne spectrum, this billacart lacks the drive and focus and intensity to hang with wines like Salon or Taittinger’s Comte de Champagne so it gets a 93 point score from me. This complex but subtle/clean style excites the appetite and does not beg me to guzzle it. This tastes on the dryer end of the brut range, I would guess 6-7g/l dosage. The subtlety of this champagne would make it a great wine to pair with omakase or oysters. I have extra Bruts and brut natures that are more rich than this, but this style has a place and I would by this again if I could find it again for close to the $130 price.
September 30, 2023 - Medium gold. Nose includes cherry, green apple, brioche, honey, and wet stones. On the palate, it is full-bodied, concentrated, with vivid acidity. The aftertaste is long, refreshing, with some sweetness in the end.
This champagne is still young. Another 3-5 years are needed to let it show its true potential.
July 28, 2023 - Vibrant and lively in the glass with a continuous bead of tiny bubbles. Depending on the glass and the possible dust particles, the bubbles either roiled or vigorously streamed. Either way, the wine is very much alive. The nose is lemon brioche, with candied lemon zest, chalk and mineral. As delicious on its own as the wine is, with rich food such as crab in this instance, it simply sings. The mousse is big on the palate. The wine is lifted with bright acidity while the fruit reins in that acidity creating a delicately balanced wine. Delicious now, but likely to be better later. 12.5% alc. With crab tartlets. 07.28.23. Highly Recommended.
July 14, 2023 - Honey colored gold. Lovely aromas of white flowers, pastry are really pronounced which flows to the palate with lots of verve.
July 12, 2023 - Checking Out Maison Margaux (Maison Margaux, Mpls): Light gold color. Drank a glass over an hour. Elegant, pear, candied apricot, biscuit, light toast, citrus. Very nice, not quite the blockbuster that some have been. 93+pts.
July 12, 2023 - Fresh and complex; this bottle struck me as having better balance between citrus and toasty notes than my bottle from last November. As it warmed in glass it showed significantly more biscuit notes. Really a nice Champagne. 93+
July 3, 2023 - This magnum was our best bottle yet from this vintage. I’ve liked the previous bottles, but this was the first to come close in quality to their brilliant 2002.
Brioche, lemon cream, hazelnut. Perfect balance. A joy to drink with dinner last night.
June 9, 2023 - Deep yellow, little mousse. Full bodied, rich, off dry, moderate oxidation. Past its best.