Two Centuries, Seven Generations

Billecart-Salmon’s Champagne has long been venerated by experts and connoisseurs.

In the village of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, south of the Montagne de Reims in the great terroirs of Champagne, lies the family estate of Billecart-Salmon. The birth of the house began with the union of two great Champagne families, when Nicolas François Billecart married Elisabeth Salmon in 1818, and the subsequent merging of their respective vineyards that resulted in a total of 14 hectares. Oenologist Louis Salmon, Elisabeth’s brother, was by their side right from the beginning, dedicating himself to the creation of the wines. For more than two centuries and seven generations, the house has remained family owned and operated — rare in an industry controlled by large luxury groups — but this constancy is also found in the quality of its wines long venerated by experts and connoisseurs.

“Champagne is in our blood,” says CEO Mathieu Roland-Billecart, who gave up a successful career as a partner at Ernst & Young in London to take over the family business from his second cousin, François, in 2019. “When François, who led the house for 25 years, was 70 years old, he said we needed to pass the baton to the seventh generation, so the family committee gathered to ask me whether I would be keen to do the job,” he recalls. “It was not something I was told from birth that it would be me. It’s when the stars align. We always try to find the right person at the right time to take over for the next generation because for us, it’s not a normal job. There are many things that are very unusual in a 200-year-old family organisation, and therefore you need to commit to that long-term involvement.”

The family’s vinification and production practices have consistently shaken up the status quo. Inspired by traditional beer-brewing techniques, fifth-generation family member Jean Roland-Billecart introduced low-temperature fermentation and cold settling in the late 1950s. Much longer than conventional fermentation, this winemaking method brings out the most airy and delicate aromas, retaining acidity, while giving wines a unique clarity and purity — the cornerstone of Billecart-Salmon’s signature freshness and finesse.

While the legal minimum required for Champagne is 15 months for non-vintage wines and 36 months for vintages, Billecart-Salmon bottles are aged for between three and 10 years in its chalk cellars before they are judged ready for tasting. The house differentiates itself from competitors by “the depth of our commitment, whether it’s in viticulture, additional ageing or the respect of quality at all costs”, says Roland-Billecart. “If you look at general trends in Champagne right now, ageing on the whole is reduced, but ours has increased, so we’re going against the flow.” For example, Billecart-Salmon launched its 2012 vintages of Elisabeth Salmon and Louis Salmon last spring, contrary to the market that released its 2015 or 2016 vintages.

Roland-Billecart cites 1996, 1998, 2002, 2008 and 2012 as some of the best vintages to drink right now. “Our wines tend to age more gracefully than any others,” he says. “We blend them to have that characteristic of great longevity. So, whether it’s Louis Salmon, Elisabeth Salmon, Nicolas François or Clos St Hilaire, they have an ageing potential of absolute minimum 10 years, and, typically, it’s more like 20.” Tasting is performed blind, and vintages are not released every year, and not always sequentially. The 2006 Clos St Hilaire, for instance, was released before the 2005 vintage “because one should not follow the sequence, but the taste of the wine”, adds Roland-Billecart.

Roland-Billecart has converted about 100 hectares of vineyards to organic viticulture, commenced biodynamic trials and encouraged biodiversity to further strengthen the ecosystem through the introduction of beehives and various tree species. Awarded the High Environmental Value, Sustainable Viticulture in Champagne and ISO 50001 certifications, the company has reduced its carbon footprint and energy and water usage through measures such as a new water management system favouring steam over water, cutting unnecessary packaging by 50 per cent over two years, developing lighter and darker glass for its bottles to incorporate the highest amount of recycled material, and establishing the Billecart-Salmon Foundation to fight against food inequalities and advance the ecological transition.

“I am not a big believer in badges and big certification,” says Roland-Billecart. “I think they could give people good conscience, but sometimes the actions behind them are not as strong as the badge. A lot of people talk about sustainability and write you a big charter, but they don’t launch a foundation. Instead of just marketing, we decided to follow our own path with tangible changes, whether it’s in farming, supply chain or people management, and we hope that will contribute to our success of tomorrow.”

While most Champagne houses are no longer independent or family-run, having succumbed to market forces, Billecart-Salmon has survived and thrived for more than 200 years, successfully negotiating wars, pandemics, economic crises and acquisitions.

“Some of it is luck, let’s be honest,” says Roland-Billecart. “But I think there are a few differentiating factors. One is that quality compass. It can be very tempting sometimes to dilute your quality just for short-term gain. That’s where often we’ve seen other houses fall apart. We have a very uncompromising vision on quality, which obviously clients benefit from. The fact that our surname is on the bottle creates a sense of belonging, ownership and responsibility. Frankly, the large groups, as much as you have very talented people working there, they don’t feel like they own it, and when push comes to shove, they may not fight as hard. During Covid-19, we didn’t have the same dip in sales as other organisations because we didn’t put our staff on furlough. We said we are one team and we’re going to fight it out. I’m the captain of the ship for my generation, and I will fight to the death to make Billecart a success and to keep it a family business.”

This article originally appeared in Billionaire's Longevity Issue. To subscribe click here.