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CHAMPAGNE

SPECIAL

LOVES…

Square Meal

If you're wondering which bottles to

choose, here's our guide to our favourite

names in the world of Champagne

WORDS GILES FALLOWFIELD

Billecart-Salmon

What's it all about? A family-run house producing wines of great elegance

and � nesse, its vintage cuvées are sourced from top vineyard sites and age

beautifully, gathering complexity with time. champagne-billecart.fr

Try this Billecart-Salmon Brut Réserve: crisp and lemon-scented, with a rich,

biscuity note and creamy intensity. £37.70-£44.99, Berry Bros � Rudd, Corks Out,

Fortnum � Mason, Harrods, Hedonism Wines

Something special Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru is fresh, pure, � ne-grained and

clearly de� ned, coming from � ve top Côte des Blancs villages: Avize, Chouilly,

Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger. £54.80-£66.99, Berry Bros � Rudd,

Hedonism Wines, Selfridges

Where can you drink it? Balthazar, Bibendum Oyster Bar, Chiltern Firehouse,

Claridge's Bar, Granger † Co., The Greenhouse, Hélène Darroze at The Connaught,

Nobu, Oblix at The Shard, The River Café, Texture, UMU, Vinoteca.

WHY WE LOVE BILLECART�SALMON… These wines stand the test of time: the

1961 and 1959 vintages of Cuvée Nicolas Francois Billecart came � rst and second respectively

in a blind tasting of 150 prestige vintages in 1999.