Billecart-Salmon

House · Mareuil-sur-Aÿ · founded 1818

Billecart-Salmon is a family Champagne house in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, founded in 1818 by Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon.1 The Union des Maisons de Champagne gives 100 ha of own vines in 13 villages.2

History

Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon founded the house in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ in 1818. Elisabeth's brother Louis Salmon made the wines while Nicolas François handled sales.1 The house lists seven family generations, the latest being Mathieu Roland-Billecart, born in 1981.1

After the First World War, in 1919, only about 75,000 bottles were left in the cellars; by 1936 sales were back above 217,000 bottles a year.1 In 1958 Jean Roland-Billecart introduced cold settling and a longer, cooler fermentation in tanks.1 See débourbage.

Cellar

In 2000 the house built a vat room of small temperature-controlled tanks. In 2010 it added a cellar with more than 400 small oak casks and in 2018 a cellar with 24 large casks (foudres) of 80 hl each.1

Wines

Dates given by the house: the first Cuvée Nicolas François vintage in 1964, the Brut Rosé in 1970 and the Clos Saint-Hilaire in 1995, a single-plot wine made in 3,500 to 7,500 bottles per vintage.1 Other cuvées named by the house include Brut Réserve, Brut Sous Bois, Élisabeth Salmon, Louis Salmon, Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru, Brut Nature and Demi-Sec.1 See single-vineyard and rosé.

See also

When the Champagne houses were foundedHistoryMareuil-sur-AyRegionsDébourbageMethodsSingle-vineyard (lieu-dit, clos)StylesRosé sparkling wineStyles

Sources

  1. Champagne Billecart-Salmon. Histoire
  2. Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC). House profile: Billecart-Salmon
  3. Union des Maisons de Champagne (UMC). The Champagne Houses (member list)

Facts checked on 2026-10-20