2013 Billecart-Salmon Cuvee Elisabeth Salmon Vintage Rose Champagne

A finely detailed Champagne that combines focus and energy with understated power.

Created in 1988 as a tribute to one of the House’s founders, Elisabeth Salmon, this is a blend of 53% Pinot Noir and 47% Chardonnay sourced from Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards. Five percent of the wine is vinified in oak casks and it was aged on lees/ in the cellar for 115 months.

A buoyant mousse slowly fades into a copper pink coloured base which has a nibble stream of tiny bubbles coursing through it. The nose is one of great sophistication with intense aromas of baked bread and yeast lees complimented by whiffs of strawberry, citrus, oyster shell, chalk and oily toast like notes. Elegant, airy and energetic, the palate is detailed with pear, strawberry and citrus fruits which are intermeshed with yeast lees, baked bread, subtle oily toast characters, oyster shell and chalky mineral elements. Crisp acidity lends a chiselled feel with the long finish highly finessed and focused. Will only get better.
Drink over the next 8-10 years.
Alc. 12.5%

Other Reviews...
The 2013 Brut Rosé Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon is a gorgeous, exotic Champagne. Crushed rose petal, mint, hard candy, cinnamon, kirsch, cedar and pipe tobacco all build in the glass. The 2013 boasts striking inner perfume and the textural resonance to match. There's a touch of new oak sweetness that works so well. A long growing season really helped concentrate flavors. Dosage is 4.4 grams per liter. Disgorged: January 2024. Drink 2026-2036.
97 points
Antonio Galloni – Vinous

Very fragrant wildflower honey, citrus, sliced apple, nutmeg and pastry aromas. It's beautifully fresh and saline on the palate, with fantastic concentration, but in a delicate, silky way. Long, elegant and chalky finish. 53% pinot noir (Ay, Mareuil-sur-Ay (9%) and Bouzy) and 47% chardonnay (Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger). 4.4 g/L dosage. Disgorged January 2024. Drink now or hold.
96 points
JamesSuckling.com

The 2013 Champagne Elizabeth Salmon Rosé pours a deeper copper/salmon color, but not too dark, with more orange undertones. It offers notes of smoky wet stone, pithy grapefruit, and licorice. It has a long, fruity feel on the palate, with verticality and a fluffy mousse. The focus and backbone of Chardonnay really play into it in this vintage, which I prefer. Drink over the coming 20 years. Made from 53% Pinot Noir from Aÿ (sélection massale) and Bouzy, with red wine from parcels in Mesnil-sur-Aÿ, and 47% Chardonnay from Oger, Cramant, and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. It was 5% barrel vinified and 95% stainless steel. Disgorged in January 2024, with 4 grams per liter dosage. Drink 2025-2045.
96 points
Audrey Frick - JebDunnuck.com