LeDomduVin: Champagne Salon and Salon “Cuvée S” Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut 2007

Champagne Salon 

Salon “Cuvée S” Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut 2007

Only produced in exceptional years, with only 44 cuvées produced in 120 years, Salon is one of the rare unicorns of Champagne.

Located at the heart of the prestigious "Côte des Blancs," the vineyard of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger possesses a unique chalky terroir with excellent hydric qualities, where the Chardonnay excels and thrives.

Established in 1911 by Eugène-Aimé Salon, with the first vintage being 1905, Salon was born from his creator's love for Champagne and his captivation for the terroir of Le Mesnil, a “Grand Cru” vineyard scattered around the village of Mesnil-Sur-Oger.

Made from 100% Chardonnay sourced from a single-hectare plot called "Le Jardin Salon" and nineteen other small plots in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, selected by Eugène-Aimé Salon at the beginning, Salon is a “Blanc de Blancs”, aged for ten years on average before release.

Before Salon’s first public release in 1920, Eugène-Aimé Salon crafted all previous vintages for his own personal pleasure. The 1905, 1909, and 1911 vintages are highly coveted by collectors while being impossible to find.

In 1963, Salon was sold to Dubonet-Cinzano, which failed to develop the brand. However, in the late 1980s, things changed for the better when Laurent-Perrier purchased Salon.

Today, Didier Depond, President, and Michel Fauconnet, Cellar Master and Production Manager of the Laurent-Perrier group, manage Salon alongside Champagne Delamotte.

Salon exports 95% of its production and commands a high price as it only amounts to about 60000 regular bottles.

In the early 2000s, my first experience with the 1990 vintage was truly eye-opening, a real epiphany for my taste buds.

Later, the 1996 vintage left me speechless. It is one of the best Champagnes I have tried, sold, and served throughout my 32-year Sommelier career.

More recently, the vintages of 2002 and 2006 were truly unique and delicious in their respective ways.

Salon “Cuvée S” Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut 2007

That night, I tried the 2007 vintage for the first time, and once again, it was a revelation. Its freshness, elegance, focus, minerality, concentration, and racy sophistication were mind-blowing.

Cheers! Santé!

Dom

@ledomduvin #ledomduvin @maisonchampagnesalon #champagnesalon #champagne #grandcru #blancdeblancs #wine #vin #vino #wein #sommelier #sommelierlife #sommlife #ilovemyjob

Unless stated otherwise, all rights reserved ©LeDomduVin 2024, on all the contents above including, but not limited to, photos, pictures, drawings, illustrations, collages, visuals, maps, memes, posts, texts, writings, quotes, notes, tasting notes, descriptions, wine descriptions, definitions, recipes, graphs, tables, and even music and video (when and where applicable).