Description

Description

Many wine experts rate this as one of the best rosé Champagnes around. The wine is pale salmon with delicate strawberry and raspberry aromas. Delicious with poached salmon or seared tuna.

Grape

Contrary to popular belief Rosé Champagnes are the heaviest sparkling wines as they have a percentage (up to 15%) of red wines added to produce the pink colour. Billecart-Salmon Brut Rose is a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Meunier and red Pinot Noir. Rosé Champagnes also usually have a higher percentage of red grapes in the blend so typical aromas are strawberry, raspberry, cream and citrus.

Producer

Founded by Nicolas-Francois Billecart in 1818, and situated in the village of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, this remains one of the few family owned businesses in Champagne. They obtain their grapes from an area covering 220 hectares, the majority of which come from in and around the region of Épernay, and own a total of 15 hectares themselves. Today the estate is run by François and Antoine Roland-Billecart, the 6th generation of the family to lead the independent House, still with the support of their father Jean Roland-Billecart.

Region

Champagne only comes from the Champagne region of France. It is the most famous and prestigious sparkling wine in the world and is produced from grapes grown only in the Champagne region, the most northerly wine region of France, north-east of Paris. There are three main areas, the Côte des Blancs, Vallée de la Marne and Montagne de Reims. Champagne is produced by a secondary fermentation in the bottle. Only three grape varieties are used: Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

Food Pairing

With lots of fresh acidity, creamy bubbles and restrained red fruit Rosé Champagnes are good with a wide variety of dishes including grilled fish like tuna or salmon, sushi and sashimi, Chinese dishes and mildly spiced Indian dishes. Rosé Champagnes are usually too dry to suit red fruit desserts.