盗人に 取り残されし 窓の月
Nusubito ni / torinokosareshi / mado no tsuki
The thief / left it behind: / the moon at the window.
— Ryōkan
In the early 2010s, Billecart-Salmon Rosé was close to a house Champagne for me.
I associate it with my loft in San Francisco.
Clams and chorizo in broth.
Steelhead with lemon.
A bottle opened on the kitchen counter without much ceremony.
Bright acidity. Darker berries. Something brambly and earthy, almost Burgundian in its depth and breadth.
For years, very few rosés came close.
I still buy it.
If the price is right.
Now I am more likely to find it on a restaurant list, look at the number beside it, and keep reading.
There are bottles I have not tried yet.
Growers I am curious about.
Maybe the wine moved too.
My mother used to grate coconut by hand.
She would come home after a long day at work and still make dinner.
Usually late.
Late enough that eventually I started cooking before she got home.
At first, mostly because I was hungry.
Food opened the door to wine.
Wine eventually to Champagne.
A few weeks ago, I walked my older daughter through fried rice.
Cold rice. Eggs. Bacon. Onion. Shrimp. Frozen peas. A little stock base.
She was mildly frustrated by having to stand there and listen.
I could have made it faster myself.
Soon she will be away for longer stretches.
I want her to know how to make a few things.
I first tried to teach her stick shift.
We got nowhere.
So we settled on her grandparents’ borrowed minivan.
Months around a local park.
Speed.
Lane changes.
Highways.
My instructions.
Her frustration.
Before long she was driving herself to school.
It was a long commute, and for her mother and me it was a huge relief.
I also lost the rides.
Sometimes we talked.
Sometimes we did not.
Then she was driving herself.
My father rarely gave me a straight answer.
He would ask another question.
Or tell me to look it up.
Maybe I do the same with her.
Recently she told me statistics was “not too bad.”
From her, that is probably close to interesting.
She started explaining a probability problem involving coin flips.
I had trouble following.
I listened.
She calls me Manj.
Most of the time I barely notice.
In middle school, she once asked if she could call me Dad.
I do not remember exactly how the conversation went.
I remember being surprised.
The Quiet Detail
Billecart vinifies Le Rosé at low temperatures in stainless steel.
There is time involved too.
The 2020 base is 45% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, and 20% Meunier, with part of the Pinot Noir vinified as red wine. It spends about 36 months on lees before release and is dosed Extra Brut.
For a wine that once felt almost effortless to me, there is quite a lot of waiting behind it.
Bottle of the Week
Billecart-Salmon Le Rosé
Structure
Base: 2020
45% Chardonnay
35% Pinot Noir
20% Meunier
Part of the Pinot Noir vinified as red wine
Low-temperature vinification in stainless steel
About 36 months on lees
Extra Brut dosage
What to Notice
I do not have one bottle that explains why I loved it.
It was more cumulative than that.
Bottle after bottle.
The acidity.
The darker fruit.
That brambly, earthy depth.
It became a reference point.
Eventually there were more reference points.
Where to Find It
Billecart Rosé is widely available.
I still buy it under about $80 retail.
Above that, I usually start looking around.
A Short Detour
She still comes to me with questions.
How to deposit her first paycheck.
How much of it to invest.
I still make her food.
I am not always sure whether I am helping her or preserving a role for myself.
For years I have thought some version of:
She will be fine.
Maybe she already is.
Sometimes I will step in.
Sometimes I will wait.
There will probably still be Billecart in the house.
Until the next bottle,
Manj
P.S. What is something you still hold onto, even as its place in your life changes?
Short Champagne notes on Instagram: @le_dosage
