Billecart-Salmon Blanc de Noirs Champagne Le Clos Saint-Hilaire 2009

99 points/'Editors' Choice,' Wine Enthusiast: "[$595 list] A toast and old gold aroma, marks this single-vineyard Champagne's impressive age. It is certainly not old, rich with toast and spice with an intense and gorgeous concentration of flavors. It is a magnificent wine, its balance impeccable and perfect to drink now. Alcohol 12%. (Sep 2025)"

98 points Antonio Galloni (Vinous): "The 2009 Extra Brut Le Clos Saint-Hilaire is stellar. I can’t remember a young Clos Saint-Hilaire with this much sheer immediacy. Then again, we are talking about 2009. Blood orange, spice, gingerbread and new leather play off a core of vibrant, red-toned Pinot fruit. Blocking the malolactic fermentation further emphasizes energy. The 2009 finishes with mind-blowing purity and exceptional finesse. This is the first vintage with some of the production bottled in magnum. The essence of Pinot. Dosage is 2 grams per liter. Disgorged: January 2024. Drink: 2027-2044. (Apr 2025)"

98 points Claire Nesbitt (JamesSuckling.com): "This Champagne is wonderfully rich on the nose, seducing with aromas of delicious yellow nectarines, sourdough, applesauce, white flowers and raspberries, alongside toast, tobacco and a hint of white truffles. It’s layered and generous with very fine, very soft bubbles. Already approachable, yet with subtle power and bright acidity to age for a long time. Fantastic length. Pinot noir from an enclosed, 1-hectare parcel of vines in Mareuil-sur-Ay planted in 1964. No malolactic. Over 13 years on the lees. 2 g/L dosage. Drink or hold. (5/27/25)"

96 points Tom Hewson (Decanter): "Billecart-Salmon's sheltered walled garden of Pinot Noir in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ has really come into its own in 2009, yielding a wine with all the intensity and volume that this cuvée tends to carry, but held in a more juicy, less firmly drawn structure than the preceding vintages. Indeed the soft generosity of 2009 seems to play to this wine's strengths. The end result is the most approachable and downright enjoyable Clos St-Hilaire of recent times, effortlessly carrying all its fruit of fresh fig, dried pear, roasted red plum and apricot kernel with heady baklava notes and darker, complex aromas of sweet walnut and cocoa. There's a very welcome shot of bright, malic acidity which which pulls this expansive, warm-hearted Champagne into focus beautifully. Drinking Window: 2025-2035."

95 points Kristaps Karklins (Wine Advocate): "Sourced from a walled 0.97-hectare vineyard planted in 1964 and vinified entirely in oak, the 2009 Le Clos Saint-Hilaire remains true to its lineage, offering maturity and richness—more so than most other parcels in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ. Released ahead of the 2008 vintage and disgorged in January 2024 with a dosage of two grams per liter, it unfurls from the glass with a deep, concentrated bouquet of ripe orchard fruits, dried apricot, toasted nuts and exotic spices mingling with orange zest. On the palate, it is full-bodied and concentrated, textural and multidimensional, exuding richness and a more muscular personality than any other wine in Billecart’s portfolio. Underpinned by succulent yet racy acidity—enhanced by blocked malolactic fermentation—it concludes with a long finish, accentuated by the attractive bitterness of Pinot Noir phenolics. Expect a wine that is more demonstrative than the cool-vintage 2007, yet more mellow and immediately seductive than the 2006. Drink: 2025-2036. (4/17/25)"

Producer notes: "Originating from a single enclosed, contiguous one-hectare parcel of old vines planted with Pinot Noir in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ in 1964. Appearance: The magic of the terroir, along with age-old skill, results in a sublime golden yellow hue, enhanced by intensey brilliant glints. The elegant effervescence of the finest bubbles is mellowed by the patina of meticulous ageing. Aroma: Noble, pedigree expression, intensely sensual with the olfactory impact of great elegant winey complexity (malted cereals, freshly baked pastries, and tangerine flesh). The resonance of a sparkling concentration, showcasing a ripe and intense fruit (roasted coffee beans, toasted bread, vanilla pod and light tobacco). Palate: Full-bodied with subtle exotic notes of honeyed citrus zest (chocolate-coated orange peel, liquorice stick, and cedarwood), on a bed of many-layered flavours (blueberry jelly, apricotin and lemon liqueur). The wine is borne upon a charm at once bewitching and expressive, in which its generosity carries the finish towards a deliciously mineral chalkiness."