First Taste: Les Rendez-Vous de Billecart-Salmon No. 3

Les Rendez-Vous de Billecart-Salmon No. 3 is the new release from Billecart-Salmon’s limited edition cuvée range.

Each release from this range showcases a single grape variety. The first two releases focused on Pinot Meunier and Pinot Noir respectively, and this third iteration has put Pinot Meunier once again on a pedestal.

Scroll down to see the tasting note and score for Les Rendez-Vous de Billecart-Salmon N°3

The Pinot Meunier is sourced from the villages of Leuvrigny, Venteuil and Damery, in the heart of the Vallée de la Marne. The wine has a dosage of 2g/L and has spent 64 months ageing on lees. The base wine is 2015, with 33% of reserve wine from 2013.

Tasted side by side with the Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Rosé 2008, the Rendez-Vous No. 3 is a more straightforward Champagne at first, with a surprising spontaneity. Its floral and vibrant bouquet, combined with a pleasantly saline finale, invites its consumption as an aperitif.

The cuvée Elisabeth Salmon was created in 1988 as a tribute to one of the house’s founders. It is a gastronomic Champagne that ages very well thanks to techniques such as cold settling, which prevents oxidation during fermentation.

2008 was a difficult vintage for Chardonnay, and the blend includes just 45%, a lower proportion than usual, compared to 50% in a classic vintage such as 2007 or 2006.

Pinot Noir (sourced from the Montagne de Reims and Grand Vallée de la Marne) accounts for the other 55%, which includes 9% of red wine from Valofroy, a south-facing parcel in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. 17% of the wine was fermented and matured in 15-year-old oak barrels with partial malolactic fermentation. The dosage is 7g/L.

Billecart’s style ‒ a tense and crystalline texture ‒ is a perfect match for food, including certain seafoods. Meat or fish will bring out the required thickness for a softer and more integrated acidity.

Les Rendez-vous de Billecart-Salmon N°3 tasted and rated:

Related content

First taste: Champagne Alfred Gratien’s 2022 releases

First taste: Champagne Ayala’s 2022 releases

Champagne Day: 96+ point wines to try