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Salon

1999 Salon, Le Mesnil Grand Cru 1.5L

France Chardonnay Champagne Le Mesnil Grand Cru 1.5L

Wine Advocate

95

Vinous

94

CellarTracker

94
/
1999 Salon, Le Mesnil Grand Cru 1.5L
Salon

1999 Salon, Le Mesnil Grand Cru 1.5L

France Chardonnay Champagne Le Mesnil Grand Cru 1.5L

Wine Advocate

95

Vinous

94

CellarTracker

94
/
0 In Stock
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One wine, one label: always 100% Chardonnay from the finest vineyards of Le Mesnilsur-Oger, considered by most to be the very finest example of Chardonnay in all of Champagne. These are incredibly chalk-rich vineyards, which supercharge the acidity and structure, allowing the wine its longevity and finesse.

Salon

The penultimate expression and essence of Chardonnay, Salon is as tightly wound in its youth as it is long-lived, with new characteristics unwrapping every year seemingly. Still, it is to be honored and appreciated through every point in its life. Created as the first über-luxury cuvée in 1911 (1905 first vintage released) for a select few, Salon has only been released in select vintages - 38, counting from its first commercial release (1921) to the latest, 2008. So selective are they that many vintages, like 2002, are held back until being deemed ready, often releasing vintages like the 2004 prior to the 2002. The sister house Delamotte often will use the grapes in the vintages that aren’t declared, and often times the prime fruit that does not meet the extreme standards of the Salon brand.

Typically the bottles see ten years’ time on their lees in the coldest of cellars, allowing the mousse to develop the most tiny, delicate but pervasive mousse. Absolutely no oak is used, and every bottle hand-riddled. The peak of Chardonnay!

Meet the Producer

Salon

One wine, one label: always 100% Chardonnay from the finest vineyards of Le Mesnilsur-Oger, considered by most to be the very finest example of Chardonnay in all of Champagne. These are incredibly chalk-rich vineyards, which supercharge the acidity and structure, allowing the wine its longevity and finesse.

The penultimate expression and essence of Chardonnay, Salon is as tightly wound in its youth as it is long-lived, with new characteristics unwrapping every year seemingly. Still, it is to be honored and appreciated through every point in its life. Created as the first über-luxury cuvée in 1911 (1905 first vintage released) for a select few, Salon has only been released in select vintages - 38, counting from its first commercial release (1921) to the latest, 2008. So selective are they that many vintages, like 2002, are held back until being deemed ready, often releasing vintages like the 2004 prior to the 2002. The sister house Delamotte often will use the grapes in the vintages that aren’t declared, and often times the prime fruit that does not meet the extreme standards of the Salon brand.

Typically the bottles see ten years’ time on their lees in the coldest of cellars, allowing the mousse to develop the most tiny, delicate but pervasive mousse. Absolutely no oak is used, and every bottle hand-riddled. The peak of Chardonnay!

The Wine Advocate

Wine Advocate

95

The Salon 1999 Brut Le Mesnil – disgorged already in 2011 and dosed with a pretty typical six grams of residual sugar – displays faintly fusil and quarry dust notes as well as hickory nut, almond, walnut and toasted wheat piquancy on the nose. Polished and subtly creamy in texture yet brightly juicy with apple and lemon, this displays an uncanny sense of lift and refinement, perfectly complementing the honeysuckle and heliotrope perfume that waft inner-mouth. You could lose yourself in the ineffability of this wine’s floral diversity and in its resonantly nut and grain low tones. Hints of apple pip lend subtle additional piquancy on a long and at once soothing as well as stimulating finish, with suggestions of oyster liquor becoming prominent as the bottle stands open for a few minutes, and serving to milk the salivary glands for all that they are worth. Follow this for at least a decade. Salon – totaling 40,000 to 60,000 bottles in years when it is produced (that’s expressed as 750 ml. each; though magnums are becoming a significant and increasing share) – is still informed to a significant extent by its two founding blocks of massale selection vines in the heart of Le Mesnil and adjacent to the nowadays shared Salon-Delamotte facility. But there are some 20 total parcels – totaling 30 acres – under contract expressly for Salon, most of which are farmed in-house, and each of which is vinified separately. Of course, “expressly” has to be qualified. Salon has been made in fewer than 40 vintages (the exact number is disputed) since its commercial inauguration in 1921, and nowadays the fruit from its vineyards goes into bottlings of Delamotte in years when – after due consideration leading up to (potential) assemblage – no Salon is “declared.” “C’est pas de Rocket Science, pas de secrets,” remarks director Didier Depond – whose cellarmaster here, responsible also for Delamotte (and indeed, Laurent Perrier) is Michel Fauconnet – implying that it’s normally evident at harvest whether a given vintage will merit showcasing. Salon, which never undergoes malo-lactic transformation, is that rare thing among Champagnes: one designed expressly for aging, whether in the bottle or as part of the selective late disgorgements undertaken for specific clients from their sur point reserves. (Though one need only have a substantial income or an intense desire in order to acquire the “normal” disgorgements, the latter-sort are no doubt beyond the means or influence of all but a very few wine lovers. I was lucky enough to visit on a June day when a bottle of 1988 was being disgorged for a client, and the small amount of wine evacuated into my glass so as to be replaced by dosage – a non-dose Salon, bear in mind, that doesn’t otherwise exist –demonstrated formidable depth of mineral-like and secondary nuances as well as stamina, grip, and mouthwatering salinity.)

Vinous

Vinous

94

Bright yellow-gold. Deeply pitched, pungent aromas of candied lemon, pear skin, anise, buttered toast and smoky lees, with notes of ginger and white flowers adding lift. Densely packed yet vibrant, showing impressive power and clarity to its mineral-accented citrus and orchard fruit flavors. Expands on the finish but maintains its focus, picking up iodine and bitter lime notes that linger impressively. A more vibrant rendition of Salon than the 1997 version, but with a bit less concentration than the 1996. This should be a slow ager.

What the Critics are Saying

The Wine Advocate

Wine Advocate

95

The Salon 1999 Brut Le Mesnil – disgorged already in 2011 and dosed with a pretty typical six grams of residual sugar – displays faintly fusil and quarry dust notes as well as hickory nut, almond, walnut and toasted wheat piquancy on the nose. Polished and subtly creamy in texture yet brightly juicy with apple and lemon, this displays an uncanny sense of lift and refinement, perfectly complementing the honeysuckle and heliotrope perfume that waft inner-mouth. You could lose yourself in the ineffability of this wine’s floral diversity and in its resonantly nut and grain low tones. Hints of apple pip lend subtle additional piquancy on a long and at once soothing as well as stimulating finish, with suggestions of oyster liquor becoming prominent as the bottle stands open for a few minutes, and serving to milk the salivary glands for all that they are worth. Follow this for at least a decade. Salon – totaling 40,000 to 60,000 bottles in years when it is produced (that’s expressed as 750 ml. each; though magnums are becoming a significant and increasing share) – is still informed to a significant extent by its two founding blocks of massale selection vines in the heart of Le Mesnil and adjacent to the nowadays shared Salon-Delamotte facility. But there are some 20 total parcels – totaling 30 acres – under contract expressly for Salon, most of which are farmed in-house, and each of which is vinified separately. Of course, “expressly” has to be qualified. Salon has been made in fewer than 40 vintages (the exact number is disputed) since its commercial inauguration in 1921, and nowadays the fruit from its vineyards goes into bottlings of Delamotte in years when – after due consideration leading up to (potential) assemblage – no Salon is “declared.” “C’est pas de Rocket Science, pas de secrets,” remarks director Didier Depond – whose cellarmaster here, responsible also for Delamotte (and indeed, Laurent Perrier) is Michel Fauconnet – implying that it’s normally evident at harvest whether a given vintage will merit showcasing. Salon, which never undergoes malo-lactic transformation, is that rare thing among Champagnes: one designed expressly for aging, whether in the bottle or as part of the selective late disgorgements undertaken for specific clients from their sur point reserves. (Though one need only have a substantial income or an intense desire in order to acquire the “normal” disgorgements, the latter-sort are no doubt beyond the means or influence of all but a very few wine lovers. I was lucky enough to visit on a June day when a bottle of 1988 was being disgorged for a client, and the small amount of wine evacuated into my glass so as to be replaced by dosage – a non-dose Salon, bear in mind, that doesn’t otherwise exist –demonstrated formidable depth of mineral-like and secondary nuances as well as stamina, grip, and mouthwatering salinity.)

Vinous

Vinous

94

Bright yellow-gold. Deeply pitched, pungent aromas of candied lemon, pear skin, anise, buttered toast and smoky lees, with notes of ginger and white flowers adding lift. Densely packed yet vibrant, showing impressive power and clarity to its mineral-accented citrus and orchard fruit flavors. Expands on the finish but maintains its focus, picking up iodine and bitter lime notes that linger impressively. A more vibrant rendition of Salon than the 1997 version, but with a bit less concentration than the 1996. This should be a slow ager.