x
  • Country ranking ?

    697
  • Producer ranking ?

    21
  • Decanting time

    15min
  • When to drink

    now
  • Food Pairing

    Seafood, Salads & Consommes

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.

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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.

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Wine Information

1966 / Flowering went well. May to August storms caused a total loss of some 200 hectares across Champagne. Harvesting began in very acceptable conditions on 26th September, revealing white grapes in the peak of health. Good quality.

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Average Bottle Price

2015 2012 2010 2005 2000
6 590€ +44.6% 4 556€ +52.4% 2 989€ +138.2% 1 255€ +214.5% 399€

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

Endless and Extensive

nose

Intense and Refined

taste

Complex, Elegant, Focused and Rich

Written Notes

Two of the bottles I had Saturday night at Marea, the first being a 1966 Salon. You know, just your everyday 55-year-old bottle of Salon that has come up three times in the market in the last five years, and those three times were all single bottle lots. It didn’t disappoint. The Secretary of Defense was loving it right away, and I could not blame him. It had a very nutty nose, and it even smelled oily and viscous. Its palate was rich and creamy, with toasty and nutty flavors. This was like a great white Burgundy; while there was just a trace of fizz left, there was still tremendous acidity lifting its finish. Its finished lingered with kisses of herbs and woodsy goodness, flexing like a mature Montrachet. You may notice my score for a previous bottle was 98+. It’s a good example of how results for older bottles vary, the ‘Any Given Sunday’ theory. I’ll take a range of 96-98+ any day (96)!

  • 96p

Mature bottles of Salon are geting more and more scarce. For this beautiful individual I traveled to Canada to share the experience with likeminded champagne aficionados a few years back. We were lucky. Powerful but soft and round, deep notes of honey, roasted hazelnuts and sweet toastiness. This time we just about caught the beast at its peak!”

  • 93p
SENASTE TASTINGNOTE Ljusare än 83:an och vansinnigt vacker med sin intensivt lysande grönskimrande färg. Ung-domlig, ultrasofistikerad, flintig, lätt rostad och magnoliadoftande. Förvånande lätt och flyktig Salon med en spröd delikat och förfinad smak, som trots sin fjärilslätta uppbyggnad klingar rent och gränslöst länge i munnen. Årgångsbetyg: 5 av 5 poäng. Både frost och hagel begränsade skördeuttaget och lyfte en förväntad ordinär årgång till himmelska höjder. De stora cuvéerna är extremt livfulla med massvis av exotiska fruktaromer och elegant struktur. De sällsynta blanc de blancs är exceptionellt eleganta och de stira pinotnamnen har gjort väldigt kraftfulla, grönsaksdoftande champagner. Se bara på Bollingers ’66:a, som påminner om en stor La Tache i aromerna. Kommentar från provningen: Defekt! Nydegorgerad i oktober’11. När Didier Depond tog med sig två perfekta flaskor från källaren var vi inställda på en fantastisk upplevelse. Istället fick vi oss en bitter lektion. Detta vin degorgerades ett knappt halvår före provningen, doftades av och försågs med sedvanlig dosage på 1 gram socker. Tyvärr hade detta feminina och sköra vin inte styrkan att stå emot oxidationschocken vid degorgeringen. Jag har varit med om detta vi ett fåtal tillfällen. Gamla sent degorgerade viner som fortfarande är ljusa och friskt mousserande där blommighet finns kvar men en ytterst obehaglig kokt madeiraton tar över och dödar vinet totalt. Jag var så nära att börja gråta! Didier Depond berättade att han till skillnad från Tom Stevenson anser att om champagnen legat länge på sin fällning så behöver den inte hög dosage för att vinet skall kunna fortsätta sin mognadsfas väl. Rangordning i provningen: utan rangordning pga defekt.
  • 97p
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Information

Origin

Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Champagne

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Poor

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

Be Cautious

Glass time

30min

Drinking temperature

8
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