2007 Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Louis Salmon Blanc de Blancs Brut Champagne 750 ml

Roll out the red carpet: 180 bottles of the extraordinary 2007 Champagne Billecart-Salmon Cuvée Louis have arrived, and this Blanc de Blancs is dressed to the nines in the aromatic complexity and mineral precision of a world-renowned Champagne house.

Just about every Champagne lover in the world reveres Billecart-Salmon as one of the very best, and the Cuvée Louis offers all the scintillating pedigree that you would expect from Grand Cru Chardonnay from Chouilly, Mesnil-sur-Oger, and Cramant. Those fast enough on the draw will relish in a collector’s-item bottle from the legendary estate that bested Krug, Dom Pérignon, and other icons in 1999’s “Champagne of the Millennium” tasting.

Raised from the cool cellars in Champagne, the Cuvée Louis is drinking perfectly now and will continue to give generously for years to come. Wine Advocate lauded this wine as “seamless and complete,” calling it “a serious, built-to-age wine.” Wine Enthusiast concurred, noting its "deliciously smooth character.” 

The 2007 Cuvée Louis certainly deserves all-star treatment because of its critical acclaim and Grand Cru origins, but there’s more: At Billecart-Salmon, vintage Champagnes like the 2007—an outstanding year—are set to rest for a minimum of a decade before release, allowing for intense, finely delineated flavor development. 

This is patient, studied artistry in a bottle. It opens with aromas of green apple, Asian pear, yellow flowers, and chalk, before giving way to palate-enticing quince and apple with mineral precision and tautness. It’s a “finely knit Champagne [that] ripples on your palate,” according to Wine Spectator, who celebrated its “velvety texture” and “mouthwatering acidity.” That’s the type of finely-crafted character that has made Billecart-Salmon a top-rated Champagne among Wine Access members, who have honored them with an incredible 4.9 out of 5 rating. 

All this should come as no surprise given the great history of Billecart-Salmon. The importance of this 19th-century estate is best demonstrated by the story of two wine titans: Neal Rosenthal and Robert Chadderdon. In his book, Reflections of a Wine Merchant, Rosenthal recalls the time in 1979 when he went on the hunt for an exclusive Champagne for his New York shop, eventually finding it through the notoriously mercurial importer Robert Chadderdon. 

All was satisfactory between the men, and the Champagne was a sensation at Rosenthal’s shop. But then the relationship took a nosedive and Rosenthal soon found himself without even a case of Billecart-Salmon. In desperation, he went all the way to Mareuil-sur-Aÿ to plead with the proprietor face-to-face. That Neal Rosenthal believed Billecart-Salmon was essential to his survival, meriting an international trip, speaks volumes of its importance among the upper echelon of Champagne.

After 200 years of operation, the house is still owned and operated by the Billecart family, and still producing the exquisite bubblies that seduced two of the most famous figures in U.S. wine importing. Today, with only 180 bottles available, we recognize there’s plenty of room for the 2007 Cuvée Louis to cause an uproar. Our advice? Play nice, but don’t wait.