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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.