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As for vintages, blancs de blancs (made with white grapes), crémants and pink champagnes, they continued to find favour amongst champagne lovers, but non-vintage has remained the backbone of production. There have been some exceptional vintages, notably 1947, 1955, 1964, and 1973, with some people also including 1961 and 1975. Here is a list, up to 1983, of the all the years in which a vintage was generally declared since the start of Second World War: 1941, 1943, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1979. Some houses also produced a vintage in 1974 and 1978. In 1983, the wines of 1980, 1981 and 1982 seemed likely to be declared vintages, but since 1980 and 1981 were both years in which the production was comparatively small, there is little chance that this will occur on a large scale.
Wine Description
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.
Wine Information
1983
While spring was particularly dreadful, vine vegetation did not suffer. Start of growth was late in coming. Harvesting took place from 26th September to 3rd October depending on the variety. Average per hectare yield was 15,012kg. The average degree was around 9° and total acidity 8.5°. Chardonnays feature a rather surprising finesse and a certain roundness.
Created in 1911, Champagne Salon is the creation of one man, a champagne connoisseur enchanted then seduced by the terroir of Le Mesnil.
Eugène-Aimé Salon, a singular personality and bon vivant, succeeded in inventing the champagne of his desires: an unprecedented Blanc de Blancs.
Unique for more than one reason, the single cru Salon is the precise embodiment of a fragment of unequalled nature.
Vintage 1983
Champagne: The 1983 vintage was one of the decade’s most mature vintages and is at its best today.
This vintage was not born without pain, either. If the 1982 winter was cold and the spring cool, then this year it was many more times so. The damp and flowering. When it finally took place, the weather conditions were excellent. The summer was warm and sunny. As in the previous year, fall rains saved the grapes from drying up. Along with the rains of early September, temperatures fell and the maturing slowed down. The weather improved toward the end of September, and the harvest was reaped in early October. The vintage grew to be even bigger than the 1982 one. The wines have matured noticeably faster than the 1982 vintage. Stylistically, the wines are robust, lush and at a really enjoyable age right now.