2012 Salon, Brut Cuvée S, Blanc de Blancs, Le Mesnil, Grand Cru Champagne, France.
With striking aromatics, steely mineral, precise and a poised full bodied mouth feel, there’s not much wrong with the 2012 vintage Salon, except the unbelievably frightening price, making it a wonderful treat to sample, but of which I couldn’t justify buying for myself. I guess, to play in the luxury Champagne House game, the price is the point, which for Salon, you’d understand with its history and pedigree, but not many can throw down the black American Express card for case or two, more power to you if you can. The 2012 vintage maybe only lacks the energy and raw acidity that I remember in young Salon, but over all it is a confident and elegant Champagne with a pale straw/gold hue and a near perfect mousse with gorgeous small beading bubbles and lively impact that leads to a nicely structured palate of lemon, apple, tart peach and quince fruits, along with wet stones, chalky oyster shell verve, a deep sense of mineral, plus hints of clove, honey and lime blossom and a slow build of brioche, toast and hazelnut. The early opulence is a plus for those that dare open a bottle sooner v. later, though this vintage is not as electric as most, and I hear the 2013 is more close to the normal Salon’s of old. How does one explain Salon? Well, I might venture an answer, I have thought of Salon as a sparkling Meursault by an elite producer like Coche or Roulot, or maybe a sparkling Grand Cru Chablis. The Salon Le Mesnil is 100% Chardonnay from Grand Cru vineyards on the famous chalky white soils of the Côtes de Blancs, which give this rarity its true sense of place and soul with the grapes achieving full ripeness, but retaining striking vitality and steely intensity. Since I’m not wealthy in the league that makes it possible to drink Salon, the sister label Delamotte, sometimes declassified and or non-vintage versions of Salon make up for it and can e had for a fraction of the price seen here.

The Champagne Salon, is a single varietal, a single terroir and a single vintage from the Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Grand Cru, one of the world’s greatest Chardonnay vineyards, and makes for one of the most sought after Champagnes, marrying the prestige of the Grand Marques with soulful and site distinctive nature of the Grower Producers. Salon, was the mission and inspiration of the legendary Eugène-Aimé Salon, who founded Salon with the 1905 vintage, without question, it (Salon) is a powerful and mineral intense expression of Champagne which can be a terrifyingly disappointing wine when young, typically needed 10 to 15 years extra time in bottle, after disgorgement and release to begin showing its best, but noticeably in recent years has been more open and well mannered while young, as this subtle, rounded and almost delicately natured 2012 presents itself. The winery notes that Champagne Salon comes from the single hectare plot called “the Salon garden” and nineteen other small plots in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger which were originally selected by Eugène-Aimé Salon at the beginning of the 20th century. The wines, slowly pressed and lees aged, are matured in the cellars for an average of ten years, after which, as they finally start to reveal their complexity and finesse desired they are released, the 2012 was only the 43rd edition of Salon in a hundred and twenty years. Eugène-Aimé Salon created his Champagne, that became an unparalleled Blanc de Blancs initially for his personal pleasure only, with winery added that it was not until the 1920s that he was to share his creation with the rest of the world. I first was exposed to Salon with the1988 vintage and then again with the 1992 and 1996, all of which help shape my taste in vibrantly dry style Champagne, and even though I love the exotic nature and richness of Krug and some of exceptional Vilmart offerings, I am tend to be thrilled by Extra Brut single varietal wines, and while listed as Brut, Salon always feels drier to me and I am always grateful for the experience.
($1099 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

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