x
  • Country ranking ?

    689
  • Producer ranking ?

    20
  • Decanting time

    15min
  • When to drink

    Now
  • Food Pairing

    Shrimps in cream curry sauce

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

Close

The 1959 Salon is the first of two wines served blind towards the end of this vertical. Although the 1959 retains considerable power for a wine of its age, it is also past peak. Hints of orange peel, butter, spice and brown butter give the 1959 its oxidative, fully mature personality. The 1959 is not my cup of tea, but readers who like very aged Champagne might find some pleasure in the 1959, a wine that is hanging on to the very final vestiges of life at this stage.

Close

The Story

This Champagne is produced from a one-hectare parcel owned by Salon: "Salon’s garden", and from 19 other smaller parcels in Mesnil-sur-Oger, chosen by Aimé Salon at the beginning of the century. The wines are cellared in the bottle for an average of 10 years, gaining in complexity and finesse.

The proof that memory and history are important is shown by the bottles in the cellars from nearly all the vintages that have ever been produced at Salon. Headed by Aimé Salon until his death in 1943, the house was then left to his nephew. In 1988, Champagne Laurent-Perrier, a family-owned company, became the majority shareholder of Champagne Salon.

Made from 100% Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs grand cru vineyard, Le Mesnil-sur- Oger. The densely planted vines are located on the mid-slope in chalky soil, and the Cordon de Royat method of trellising is used, which allows access to the soil at the base of the vines.

The grapes are picked and sorted by hand. Only the first pressing, or cuvée, is used. This is the lightest, freshest juice, containing the highest percentage of acidity, which is essential to the evolution and vivacity of the Champagne. The first fermentation takes place in a stainless steel tank. The wine receives no oak exposure and does not undergo malolactic fermentation.

The wine is cellared in the bottle for an average of 10 years, gaining in complexity and finesse. Riddling is done by hand. All bottles are disgorged within 8 months of the first disgorgement, also by hand.

Close

Wine Information

Far too few have had the opportunity to be able to taste Salon in full bloom. Many argue, with some justification, that they are either steely, undeveloped acid parcels or oxidative, fallen fruit bombs. It is certainly true that Salon will need many years to develop full maturity and that they are made in an old-fashioned, malic acid, patience-testing style; however, to say that also sometimes mature too quickly and become over-matured is a misunderstanding. What happens is that the wines in the ‘interphase’ take on notes reminiscent of oxidation due to the ripening of the grapes at harvest, before the rich buttery nutty style is fully developed. The flavour spectrum, shades of straw, overripe apples and figs, is allowed a great deal of leeway. This is a strange but very obvious phenomenon when you have time to follow a vintage of Salon through its life journey.

 

My oldest Salon comes from the rare and mediocre vintage of 1932, and it turned out to be both really wonderful and youthful. Wines from the forties and fifties are probably the best and 1928 Salon is at the top of my wish list of champagnes I have not yet tasted. We had several healthy sceptics within the test group, but everyone agreed about the need for mature experiences in order to be fully able to understand the very young specimens, and that time transforms these narrow and hard youngsters into complex mature beauties.

Richard Juhlin

Close

Average Bottle Price

2014 2012 2010 2005 2000 1995
3 952€ -13.2% 4 551€ +30.1% 3 499€ +79.9% 1 945€ +282.1% 509€ +20.3% 423€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Medium

ending

Medium, Extensive and Flavorful

nose

Mature, Complex, Ripe and Seductive

recommend

Yes

taste

Average in Acidity, Balanced, Multi-dimensional, Well-structured, Developing, Medium-bodied, Round, Rich, Elegant and Medium-Dry

Verdict

Transparent and Full-bodied

Written Notes

Big Boy arrived fashionably late, but we forgave him thanks to a 1959 Salon. There were great aromas of vanilla, sugar cube and white musk, along with some reserved touches of ginger and ‘wheat’ per The Mogul. It was more wine-like on the palate with flavors of paint and some bitters to its finish. The nose was better, but it was still excellent (94).
  • 94p
TASTINGNOTE Ljus som en åttiotalschampagne. Initialt mycket knuten doft som krävde en kvart i glaset innan den utvecklade ett svårslaget djup av höstlöv, valnöt, choklad, rök och jasminarom. Smaken mjuknade med tiden men var oerhört koncentrerad och hård. Kraften överträffas endast av Bollinger ’Vieilles Vignes Françaises’. Inte den charmigaste Salonårgången, men antagligen den bästa jag provat. Det tankeväckande djupet i kombination med vinets förbryllande ungdomlighet gör Salon 1959 till en av mina största vinupplevelser. Fortfarande utvecklingsbar! Årgångsbetyg: 5 av 5 poäng. En stor skörd av champagner som ofta hamnade över 13 procent i alkohol på grund av den extremt varma sommaren. Vinerna har visat sig mycket hållbara, trots den låga syran. Kraften och koncentrationen är enorm oavsett om vinerna domineras av Chardonnay eller Pinot Noir. Kommentar från provningen: Kan vara bland det största man kan dricka, men tyvärr var denna flaska i början av sin utförsbacke med valnötterna och skogsdjupet intakt, men också denna gång uppblandat med plommon, fikon, dadlar och lätt bruna äpplen. Degorgerad för 9 år sedan. Köpt på auktion i London. Rangordning i provningen: 2:a av 19.
  • 98p
Load more notes

Information

Origin

Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Champagne

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Very good

Investment potential

Average

Fake factory

Be Cautious

Drinking temperature

7
Incorrect Information
If you found some information that is wrong, let us know
Are you sure you want do delete this wine? All information will be lost.
Are you sure you want to recommend this wine?
Are you sure you want hide this written note ?
Are you sure you want show this written note ?
UPGRADE MEMBER PLAN
Upgrade your membership now, it's quick and easy. We use PayPal, the world's largest payment system, it accepts all credit cards. Once you've chosen your membership level, you'll go directly to PayPal. You can cancel your membership at any time.
Thank you for your support!
 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

 

HOW TO USE TASTINGBOOK?

We recommend you to share few minutes for watching the following video instructions of how to use the Tastingbook. This can provide you a comprehensive understanding of all the features you can find from this unique service platform.

This video will help you get started



Taste wines with the Tastingbook


Create Your wine cellar on 'My Wines'



Explore Your tasted wines library



Administrate Your wine world in Your Profile



Type a message ...
Register to Tastingbook
Sign up now, it's quick and easy.
We use PayPal, the world's largest payment system, it accepts all credit cards.
Once you've chosen your membership level, you'll go directly to PayPal, where you can sign up for a free 7-day trial period. You can cancel your membership at any time. We wish you a rewarding journey to the world of Fine Wines.

Free 7 days Member trial

 

Member

 

Pro Member

 

Winemerchant Member

 

Winery Member

 

User

  Register