Vintage Billecart Le Clos Saint Hilaire 2005

Le Clos St Hiliare is Billecart Salmon’s top wine. it is a simple, walled parcel (‘Clos’ in French) of Pinot Noir. The one-hectare vineyard has always belonged to the family; a single, unbroken and enclosed plot. Its vines were planted in 1964 and provide what you expect from one of the best cru sites in Champagne, particularly as the soils are so well suited to provide exceptionally pure pinot noir. To enable this great wine to mature in typical single cru style, the House chooses to add very little dosage (1g/L) and ferment the wine in oak barrels.

The wine is golden with ultra-fine bubbles in the glass. Aromatic notes of fresh figs, bergamot with flower blossom. On the palate, honeyed characteristics, yeasty complexity following 15 years on lees (!) mixes with buttery citrus, panettone and a sweet, gentle nuttiness. An ultra-long finish to notes of spices and praline. The outstanding wine will mature wonderfully over the next 20 years, serve between 12°C – 15°C (and definitely no cooler!).