The great house of Billecart-Salmon is still family-run and operated, and has survived and thrived for seven generations, now run by Mathieu Roland-Billecart, in the heart of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. The family owns 100 hectares of their own grapes, and contracts out with some of Champagne’s greatest growers, gaining access to another 300 hectares – all spread across 40 Grand Cru sites throughout the Champagne region. Their vintage cuvees get choice picks of the top lots of Grand Cru fruit, and that is exactly what this wine is all about!

The 2016 Extra Brut doesn’t have a fancy name, but its composition and steadfast vinification more than make up for it. The cepage is 66% Pinot Noir fruit from the Montagne de Reims and 34% Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs. There’s only a touch of dosage at 1.9 grams per liter and a lengthy 64 months of aging on the lees in the carved chalk cellars. Florality is the name of the game here with this wine’s intoxicating bouquet, along with a nostalgia-inducing orange creamsicle accent followed by toasted hazelnuts, brioche, and then some citrus and caramelized pineapple. Fresh and uplifting elements of slate and pure chalky minerality on the finish provide tension and focus –  all of the hallmarks of an outstanding wine. Vintage Billecart-Salmon Grand Cru – in magnum for just over $200? Not to mention, it’s got way more aging life to it in this large-format bottle… at least another 10 years. Now that’s something worth toasting to! What are you waiting for?