How Billecart-Salmon became the hospitality industry’s champagne of choice

There’s a certain quiet magic about Aÿ-Champagne. The village hums with history, its cobbled streets echoing with the clink of bottles and the low, cool stillness of cellars far beneath your feet. Somewhere under those streets, in a labyrinth of chalk and time, lies the beating heart of Billecart-Salmon – a champagne house whose story stretches back seven generations, yet feels as alive and expressive today as the bubbles in a freshly poured flute.

Descending into those cellars is like slipping into another world. The temperature drops, the air stills, sounds become deadened and more distant – and the faint waft of yeast and limestone mingles with that unmistakable perfume of ageing wine; a whisper of brioche, citrus peel, and above all else – potential.

Inside Maison Billecart-Salmon

The tunnels were first carved in the 17th and 19th centuries, long before electricity or industrial machinery. Some 2.5km of them snake beneath the village, like veins carrying the lifeblood of champagne itself. Here, what seems like millions of bottles slumber in silence, stacked in perfect symmetry, their slightly cloudy lees slowly performing that remarkable transformation from still wine to the bubbly liquid celebration we're more familiar with.

Our guide through the labyrinth of tunnels is Mathieu Roland-Billecart, seventh-generation family member – and the man tasked with maintaining the traditions of the past but keeping the brand on the path to continued future greatness, too.

He speaks of these cellars with the kind of reverence usually reserved for a cathedral tour. And in truth, these cellars are a place of worship: a subterranean temple to patience and precision. Every bottle is touched by time; prized vintages laid down for over a decade, marked by the character of its season and the quiet decisions of those who nurture it.

'Because we're a family-run champagne estate, we have the luxury to take our time,' he says, gazing into a dusty bottle waiting patiently for its time to come. 'Time – especially time on the lees – is a critical factor for greatness in champagne, but unfortunately a lot of producers seem to forget that important fact.'

It’s a sentiment that captures the spirit of Billecart-Salmon, founded in 1818 by Nicolas François Billecart and Elisabeth Salmon. Seven generations later, the family still follows the same principles: finesse over force; freshness over flamboyance. While many houses have embraced modernity with industrial zeal, Billecart-Salmon moves to a slower rhythm, trusting in intuition as much as innovation.

Just a few steps from the family home, in a small walled 'garden vineyard', this philosophy takes root – quite literally. Le Clos Saint-Hilaire, a single hectare of Pinot Noir vines, is a marvel of meticulous viticulture. The vines here are tended to with fastidious detail; horses plough the rows, sheep graze the plot after the harvest, to help fertilise the soil, and every grape is hand-harvested with reverence. The result, bottled as Le Clos Saint-Hilaire, is one of Billecart-Salmon's rarest expressions – a soulful wine with profound complexity.

Tasting it in situ is a special moment. The wine is rich and deep, with real precision. Notes of hazelnut, a dusting of spice, and orchard fruit give way to echoes of minerality, reminding one of the earthy silences in the cellars below. There’s a distinct sense of place in every sip: a conversation between soil and winemaking craft that has been ongoing for more than two centuries.

The main guest house was refurbished in 2024 by French-American interior designer Elliott Barnes and feels both timeless and intimate. The inside walls are decorated with unique natural materials, and the wall covering is appropriately called ‘Winepaper’ for the ingenious way it combines hemp and linen with dried grape skins, sourced from grapes hand-picked from the Clos Saint-Hilaire plot during the 2022 harvest. Outside, a majestic bicentennial chestnut tree dominates the courtyard, underscoring the family's commitment to the importance of appreciating time and tradition.

The core range of wines, from the lighter, delicate, Chardonnay-rich Blanc de Blancs, through to the oak age-driven, toasty, yet beautifully balanced Le Sous Bois, (blended between Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier,) perfectly demonstrate that Billecart-Salmon’s style has always been about subtlety - a considered conversation rather than a shout. Even the rosé, often a sweeter, zesty, fruit-filled explosion in lesser-skilled hands, is a masterclass of intricacy: paler than most other brands and delicately perfumed, with freshly picked strawberries. It’s champagne for reflection as much as celebration.

'The wine world is often far too inward-looking,' says Mathieu. 'Our objective is to bring a smile to people's faces. If you can't smile after a glass of Billecart-Salmon, then we haven't done our jobs properly,' he beams.

With the afternoon sun dipping low over the village, glinting off the slate rooftops, somewhere beneath us, the bottles continue their slow transformation, watched over by a family that understands the value of waiting. Seven generations on, Billecart-Salmon remains a house not of spectacle, but of soul – a reminder that true elegance lies not in extravagance, but in the quiet pursuit of perfection.

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