Billecart-Salmon Brut Champagne Réserve NV

94 points Tyson Stelzer (The Champagne Guide)): "(2013 base vintage; disgorged November 2015 and June 2016; 40% meunier from Vallée de la Marne; 20% pinot from Ay, Mareuil-sur-Ay, Ambonnay, Rilly-la-Montagne, Verzenay and Verzy; 30% chardonnay from Vitry, Sézannais and Côte des Blancs; 45% reserves from 2012, 2010 and 2009; full malolactic fermentation; aged 28 months on lees; 8g/L dosage; DIAM closure; around 1.2 million bottles annually). Billecart's enchanting Brut Réserve upholds its aspiration of impressive freshness and elegance, even in the presence of impressive levels of reserve wines, a generous 45% of the blend. This cuvée is a captivating contradiction, dressing one of Champagne's higher representations of meunier in one of the most delicate and graceful of attires. It glides onto the stage and sings with the pristine signature of the house, energised by the red apple and red berry fruits of meunier, with a breathtakingly refined melody of pure lemon zest, in a dazzling display of elegant, soft, crystalline chalk minerality and understated, fragrant elegance. Lees age furnishes subtle brioche and almond notes, while meunier lends supple approachability, without for a moment dipping its gaze from purity and definition, concluding with fresh, bright acidity, well-integrated dosage, gentle phenolic presence, good persistence and fine chalk mineral drive. Classic Billecart. (2018-2019)"

94 points James Halliday (Wine Companion): "Its complexity comes from 40% pinot meunier, 30% each of pinot noir and chardonnay, the reserve components are 45% of the total, the outcome brioche and spicy/toasty nuances at one extreme, red berry, citrus and bright acidity at the other, all displayed on an unbroken stream from start to finish."

92 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "The Brut Réserve bottling from Billecart-Salmon is identical in cépages to the Extra Brut, with the sole differences in the wines being that the Brut Réserve receives a judicious dosage of seven grams per liter. Not surprisingly, the current release is excellent, offering a complex nose of pear, warm biscuits, a fine base of complex soil tones, gentle notes of lime peel and a nice touch of white roses in the upper register. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, complex and very refined in profile, with a lovely core, pinpoint bubbles, bright, well-integrated acids and a very long, tangy and elegant finish. I have had some previous renditions of Brut Réserve that seemed a bit bound up by their structural elements out of the blocks and in need of some bottle age to blossom, but the current release will drink beautifully right from the outset. 2014-2035. (May/Jun 2014)"