Billecart Salmon releases the much anticipated cuvée Elisabeth Salmon 2008 this spring. Made in select vintages, the 2008 vintage is only the 13th time the wine is made. La Dame de Pic, housed in the iconic Raffles Hotel, continues its collaboration with Billecart and celebrates the launch with a curated spring menu designed by executive chef Anne-Sophie Pic.
Chef Pic’s relationship with Billecart goes back to her days in Valence, where she tasted the cuvée at her father’s house. Her epicurean journey started when she took over the family’s restaurant Maison de Pic, and since then, she has blazed a trail with eight Michelin stars under her belt.
The elegant, six-course meal is paired with Billecart’s bubbles throughout the way. The brown crab from Brittany accentuated with basil and sorrel cream livens up with the Brut Reserve NV. The second course of green asparagus from Loire valley paired well with Billecart Blanc de Blanc NV.
Chef Pic’s signature dish Les Berlingots: pasta parcels with molten goat’s cheese fondue centre and umami-rich mushroom broth is a remarkable creation and lifted notes from complex and toasty Billecart Salmon Sous Bois NV. Along the way, the Cuvée Nicolas François 2006 impressed with its delicate mousse and enduring finish.
The champagne du jour, Billecart Salmon Brut Cuvée Elisabeth Salmon Rosé 2008, was poured with a veal rack marinated with coffee and lovage and served with Boulagére potatoes and rosehip chutney. The multi-layered, charming champagne leads with fruit and lots of it – luscious strawberries, red cherries, citrus – and evolves to show liquorice, patisserie notes and a gentle toastiness. The pairing is exquisite – the fruity and creamy texture provides a contrast to the lightly seared meat, and the toasty notes complement the caramelised potatoes.
The house of Billecart-Salmon is known for its rosé expression; one out of five bottles sold by the house is a rosé. The Elisabeth Salmon cuvée, a vintage rosé, was created in 1988 as a tribute to the house’s co-founder Elisabeth Salmon. The 2008 vintage is a melange of 55% Pinot Noir and 45% Chardonnay and includes a dash of still pinot noir wine. The red grapes, sourced from the south-facing slopes of premier-cru village Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and result in powerful, aromatic wines. Aged on lees for ten years, the wine underwent partial malolactic fermentation and rested a few years post disgorgement to marry the flavours.
The much-anticipated white millefeuille finished the meal. The white cube begs you to break open the veiled layers of intricate puff pastry, vanilla Chantilly, Bhutan orange confit and covered in delicate royal icing. It was worth the wait.
The gastronomical experience is available for a limited period: from 23 April to 20 June 2021 for lunch and dinner.
La Dame de Pic, Raffles Singapore – 1 Beach Road, Singapore 189673 Tel 6412 1816
