Champagne Salon

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Champagne Salon is a small producer of critically acclaimed[1] Champagne made in the blanc de blancs style. Salon, along with Delamotte, is part of the Laurent-Perrier group. It is regarded as one of the most expensive Champagnes on the market.[2]

[edit] History

Champagne Salon was founded by Eugène Aimé Salon in the early 20th century. Salon was convinced that the Chardonnay grapes from the Le Mesnil-sur-Oger vineyards could produce wine with favorable levels of finesse and elegance without the need to add Pinot noir or Pinot Meunier. Around the turn of the 20th century, Salon began producing a Chardonnay-only cuvee that he shared privately with friends.[3] The first commercial vintage of Champagne Salon was in 1921 and by 2006, the house has produced only 37 vintages.[4] Following Eugène Aimé Salon's death in 1943, his niece inherited the company which was eventually sold to Laurent-Perrier.[5]

[edit] Vineyards and winemaking

Salon, like all blanc de blancs Champagnes, is made from 100% Chardonnay. Its grapes are harvested from various growers in the commune Le Mesnil sur Oger in the Côte des Blancs region of Champagne and from a proprietary vineyard known as Jardin de Salon. While the village-wide terms used for classification in the Champagne region don't carry the same meaning as in Burgundy, Chablis or Alsace, Le Mesnil sur Oger is a Grand cru-rated vineyard area, which is the highest of three levels.[6] Of the vineyards that produce their Champagne, Salon's own Jardin de Salon comprises only 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of planted grapes. In 2002, this vineyard was attacked by disease and had to be completely replanted. The majority of the grapes for Champagne Salon comes from the 20 contract growers with vineyards in the Le Mesnil sur Oger. These vines average around 25 years of age with some being as old as 40.[5]

Champagne Salon is only released under the Salon name during exceptional years, at the rate of approximately three vintages per decade.[1] Presumably, the wine made by grapes from the contract growers will end up in Laurent-Perrier champagne in other years. According to the Salon website, their wines are fermented in stainless steel and allowed to age in the bottle for several years before release. Like many Champagne producers, Salon will not release an entire vintage at the same time but will hold back some cases worth to spend more time aging on the lees. Some bottles from the 1959 Le Mesnil vintage were kept on lees 38 years prior to disgorging. In 1998, a single bottle from this vintage fetched over five times its estimated amount at a Christie's auction.[7] In each vintage no more than 60,000 bottles are produced.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b MacNeil, Karen (2001). The Wine Bible. New York: Workman Publishing, page 184. ISBN 1-56305-434-5. 
  2. ^ Brown, Corie. "Behind the Labels: Champagne price wars", Los Angeles Times, December 30, 2007. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. 
  3. ^ L. Farmer "Blanc de Blancs–Champagne's Golden Cuvée" The Wine News. Accessed: Jan 22nd, 2008
  4. ^ Wilson Daniels "House of Champagne Salon" News, Accessed: Jan 22nd, 2007
  5. ^ a b c S. Brook "Salon Secrets" Decanter Magazine, September 15th, 2004
  6. ^ B. Sanderson "Trying Times in Champagne" Wine Spectator, December 31st, 2005
  7. ^ P. Meltzer "Sunken Champagne Fetches Record Price at Christie's London Sale" Wine Spectator, December 31st, 1998

[edit] External links

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