Billecart Salmon Cuvee Elisabeth Brut Rose 2013
(Champagne, France) - [VM 97] [JD 96] [JS 96] [WE 96] [DM 95] [WA 94+]

About this Champagne:
Created in 1988 as a tribute to the House’s co-founder Elisabeth Salmon, this cuvée distinguishes itself through its sparkle and refined purity of grandeur and unique character. This great, rare and sought after wine, subtly offers the signature of our top Pinot Noir and Chardonnay terroirs. The presence of an ancestral savoir-faire is recognized through the art of assemblage and rigorous selection from an exceptional harvest.

Tasting Notes:

• Appearance: A salmon pink tint and sparkling luminous visual presence is underscored by a gracious and persistent effervescent veil. A very seductive visual ensemble, with a soft shimmering reflection, rising to an accomplished articulation of a great vintage.
• Aroma: It is a refreshing sensorial expression of crisp red berries, citrus peel and stone fruits. With the exquisite sensation of a rich and complex aromatic generosity (fresh figs, white peach, almond macaroons). Ripe olfactive notes respectfully soften the distinctive perfume of wild strawberries and scented spring roses.
• Palate: A powerful yet delicate impact owing to the noble and harmonious maturing of flavors (nectarine, cardamom). An ample and pure character in the mouth unveiling the soft spices of tangy mandarin and the persistent flavors of cedar and exotic wood.
• Serving: This great wine, with its extreme finesse, is a sign of the delicate personality of its textures and flavors. An aromatic charm with a rare mineral dimension, marries well with beautiful creamy poultry, in particular poulet de Bresse, langoustines royales and crunchy hibiscus macaroons. Serve at 11-12°.

Ratings & Reviews

97 Points - Vinous Media:
"The 2013 Brut Rosé Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon is a gorgeous, exotic Champagne. Crushed rose petal, mint, hard candy, cinnamon, kirsch, cedar and pipe tobacco all build in the glass. The 2013 boasts striking inner perfume and the textural resonance to match. There's a touch of new oak sweetness that works so well. A long growing season really helped concentrate flavors. Dosage is 4.4 grams per liter. Disgorged: January 2024.” – Antonio Galloni (May 2026)

96 Points - Jeb Dunnuck:
"The 2013 Champagne Elizabeth Salmon Rosé pours a deeper copper/salmon color, but not too dark, with more orange undertones. It offers notes of smoky wet stone, pithy grapefruit, and licorice. It has a long, fruity feel on the palate, with verticality and a fluffy mousse. The focus and backbone of Chardonnay really play into it in this vintage, which I prefer. Drink over the coming 20 years. Made from 53% Pinot Noir from Aÿ (sélection massale) and Bouzy, with red wine from parcels in Mesnil-sur-Aÿ, and 47% Chardonnay from Oger, Cramant, and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. It was 5% barrel vinified and 95% stainless steel. Disgorged in January 2024, with 4 grams per liter dosage.” – Audrey Frick (Dec 2025)

96 Points - James Suckling:
"Very fragrant wildflower honey, citrus, sliced apple, nutmeg and pastry aromas. It's beautifully fresh and saline on the palate, with fantastic concentration, but in a delicate, silky way. Long, elegant and chalky finish. 53% pinot noir (Ay, Mareuil-sur-Ay (9%) and Bouzy) and 47% chardonnay (Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger). 4.4 g/L dosage. Disgorged January 2024. Drink now or hold.” (Jul 2025)

96 Points - Wine Enthusiast:
"Precision and generosity meet on the nose, where delicate red berries, spice and violet florals emerge over a fine, taut layer of minerality. The palate is elegant and lifted by refreshing saline acidity, carrying raspberry, wild strawberry and fresh rhubarb through a long, chalky-clay finish. Precision in every sip.” – Anna-christina Cabrales (Apr 2026)

95 Points - Decanter Magazine:
"Despite 2013's late-harvest freshness, Billecart-Salmon has turned out an Elizabeth rosé of some immediate appeal and elegance, gracefully built with some red plum and cherry Pinot sweetness, orange citrus, nougat and persistent lemon oil Chardonnay providing tension. For a 2013 this is far from austere, but rather fruit-forward, perfectly assembled and restrained, actually appearing less tightly wound than the 2012 in youth. As with the Louis blanc de blancs of the same vintage, it remains a little shy in terms of complexity and detail when young, yet seems perfectly built to reveal this over time.” – Tom Hewson (Feb 2026)

94+ Points - Wine Advocate:
"Disgorged in January 2024 with a dosage of 4.4 grams per liter, the 2013 Rosé Elisabeth Salmon emerges from this cool, late-ripening vintage as a rather giving, generous rendition. It unfurls in the glass with aromas of dried apricot, dark cherry and grapefruit mingled with a subtle hint of mocha. On the palate, it is full-bodied, ample and enveloping, offering a sweetly fruited core underpinned by tangy acidity, culminating in a precise, perfumed finish. This is a fleshy, though somewhat old-fashioned Champagne that, at present, does not quite attain the depth of Louis Salmon of the same vintage; however, it would not be surprising to see it improve considerably with additional time on cork following disgorgement. It is composed of an almost equal blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and was vinified almost entirely in stainless steel, with full malolactic fermentation.” – Kristaps Karklins (Feb 2026)