Billecart-Salmon’s Le Clos Saint-Hilaire: a vertical tasting

St Hilaire is the patron saint of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, the pretty Champagne village which is famous for scoring 99 on the Echelle des Crus. (This classification of Champagne vineyards was developed in the mid-20th century as a means of setting the price of grapes grown through the villages of the Champagne wine region.)

Prime territory

That the village missed out on grand cru status by one point is generally agreed to be an injustice – all the more so as it is home not only to the superlative Clos des Goisses vineyard, but also one of the most respected houses in the region, Billecart-Salmon.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores of all seven Le Clos Saint-Hilaire releases

Great excitement, then, when seventh-generation owner Mathieu Roland-Billecart announced that he was to present England’s first ever complete vertical of his top wine, Le Clos Saint-Hilaire.

The tasting included a preview of the latest release, the 2006, and then all six other releases, going back to 1995.

Humble beginnings

Le Clos Saint-Hilare is a one-hectare plot, located just outside the familial house in the heart of the village.

Until 1964 it served as a kitchen garden for the family; thereafter Pinot Noir was planted, which was used to make the red wine to be blended into Billecart’s top rosé, Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon.

In 1994 François-Roland Billecart, Mathieu’s uncle, decided that the fruit was far too good even for that, and the new super–cuvée was born, one of the very first deluxe blanc de noirs in the region, although, coincidentally, Krug launched its fantastically expensive Clos D’Ambonnay Pinot Noir at pretty much the same time.

Low yields, straightforward winemaking

The vineyard is walled, therefore a bona fide clos; its per-vine yields are kept low by a combination of dense planting and the use of the cordon permanent spur pruning. There is a relatively thick topsoil, born of erosion from the hill (‘Montagne’!) behind the village, and kept friable by horse ploughing; the vines are south and southeast facing but must work hard for their roots to dig into the low-lying strata of pure chalk. The average total production of this top wine varies between 3,500 and 7,000 bottles, depending on the vintage.

In the winery everything is wonderfully straightforward, according to Mathieu; double cold settling in one tank, straight to barrel, no malolactic fermentation and then relatively late bottling (in May usually) and thereafter up to 15 years on lees, either under cork or crown cap depending on the recommendation of the chef des caves, Florent Nys.

Latest release

Now the Clos Saint-Hilare clan is welcoming its seventh member.

The 2006 was disgorged in November 2020 and has a dosage of 2g/L. The 1995, 1998 and 1999 had no sugar added at all; the remaining four have all had different levels of sugar addition, with the high-acid vintage of 1996 meriting the most at 4g/L.

A terrific wine and, given that it is something of a flagship for the blanc de noirs style, a very significant one. Mathieu jokes that its creation almost happened ‘by accident’; if that is the case, it was a most serendipitous accident, and its seven vintages are all worthy ambassadors for this famously elegant house.

The 2006 vintage will be available from 20 January 2022 at a retail price of around £350, from UK merchants including Berry Bros & Rudd, Goedhuis, Hedonism, Selfridges, Wanderlust Wines, The Finest Bubble, and Lea & Sandeman.

Billecart-Salmon Le Clos Saint-Hilaire tasting: seven releases from 1995 to 2006

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