Billecart Salmon 2008

A stunningly pure nose with aromas of apples, pears, grapefruit, dried flowers and fresh bread dough, all intermingled. The palate has a super fresh, sleek and vibrant feel with elegance, length and precision. The finish is so long and so precise. A stunning Champagne. Drink or hold.

Disgorged with four grams per liter dosage, the 2008 Extra Brut Vintage hasn't appreciably evolved since I last tasted it. Offering up pretty aromas of honeycomb, crisp green apple, white flowers and fresh pastry, it's medium to full-bodied, tensile and incisive, with a tightly wound core, racy acids and an elegant pinpoint mousse. I wouldn't open bottles from my own cellar for another five years, as this is evolving at a glacial pace.

The newly released 2008 Extra Brut Vintage from Billecart-Salmon is still—predictably—quite youthfully reticent, opening in the glass with a lively bouquet of citrus oil, crisp white peach, white flowers, cardamon and nutmeg. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, chiseled and precise, with a tight-knit core, lovely underlying chalky extract and a tensile finish. This is a vintage Billecart with more-than-usual upside, and it will be worth following for two decades in a cold cellar.