Salon 'S' Le Mesnil - Blanc de Blancs
95 points - The Wine Advocate
98 points - The Wine Advocate
100 points - The Wine Advocate
96 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - The Wine Advocate
96 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - The Wine Advocate
99 points - The Wine Advocate
94 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - The Wine Advocate
Salon 'S' Le Mesnil - Blanc de Blancs
95 points - The Wine Advocate
98 points - The Wine Advocate
100 points - The Wine Advocate
96 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - The Wine Advocate
96 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - The Wine Advocate
99 points - The Wine Advocate
94 points - The Wine Advocate
95 points - The Wine Advocate
Regular price€1,557.60
€1,557.60
/
- In stock
- Inventory on the way
Disgorged in early 2023 with a dosage of 5.5 grams per liter, it soars from the glass with scents of iodine, orange zest and warm bread mingling with hints of tropical fruit. Far from linear, it is a flamboyant and elegantly glossy rendition that’s undeniably fleshier than the racy-fresh and chiseled 2007 at a similar stage of development. Laden with ripe yet vibrant acidity, complemented by a pinpoint mousse and concluding with a precise, vividly chalky finish, it is dangerously approachable even now. However, given its rarity and eye-watering market price, it would be rather hedonistic to pop the corks before it celebrates its 20th birthday. Since 1921, this marks only the 44th edition of Salon.
Back in 2014, Salon's president Didier Depond was quoted in the press as saying that “since 2008, there has been no genuinely great vintage in Champagne" and that a 2012 from Salon wouldn't be released. But the just-released 2012 Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil shows that he had good reason to change his mind, as to my palate this is, after 2008, the finest Salon produced this millennium.
Unwinding in the glass with notes of citrus oil, wet stones, freshly baked bread, white currants and oyster shell, it's full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a tightly wound core of fruit, racy acids and an elegant pinpoint mousse.
Concluding with a long and resonant finish, this is a structured and powerful Salon that's a lot more incisive than, for example, 2002 at the same stage, but which also carries more muscle and substance than a leaner vintage such as 2007.
Disgorged in January 2019 with six grams per liter dosage, Salon's 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil is a striking wine, unwinding in the glass with scents of citrus oil, fresh bread, crisp green apple, white flowers, smoke and oyster shell. Full-bodied, layered and incisive, it's deep and concentrated, with a tightly coiled core of fruit that's underpinned by a racy spine of acidity. Seamless and unerringly precise, it concludes with a long and penetratingly mineral finish. Immense though its potential for aging is, its intensity and balance make it pleasurable as well as persuasive, even today.
The 2007 Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil is showing very well, unwinding in the glass with scents of citrus pith, smoke, crisp green apple, Anjou pear, white flowers and subtle hints of fresh herbs. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and incisive, it's fine-boned and precise, with a bright spine of acidity, an elegantly fleshy core of fruit and a pretty, pinpoint mousse.
The 2006 Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Brut is quite tangy and reserved by the standards of this sunny, demonstrative vintage. Offering up aromas of smoke, toasted bread, orange oil, mocha and confit lemon, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with racy acids and a concentrated, surprisingly structured mid-palate. Concluding with long and gently smoked notes on the finish, this is a fine success.
The 2004 Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Brut is another rather structured, tensile wine from a generally rather open vintage. Wafting from the glass are scents of citrus rind, crisp green apple, preserved citrus, fresh bread and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, tangy and chiselled, with fine depth at the core and a long, chalky finish, it's complemented by a pillowy pinpoint mousse. Unlike many wines from 2004, this Salon still has the potential to improve with further bottle age.
Subtle aromas of brioche, iodine and walnuts now inflect its bouquet of ripe lemon, green apple and crushed chalk, and on the palate, the wine is full-bodied, broad and powerful, with a fine mousse and considerable depth and dimension, concluding with a delicately chalky finish. This is an unusually ripe, muscular vintage of Salon, and my own palate tends to favor the brighter, more incisive vintages such as the 2007 or 1996 at its best, but this is nonetheless a superb blanc de blancs that's maturing a touch faster than is expected.
The Salon 1999 Brut Le Mesnil – disgorged already in 2011 and dosed with a pretty typical six grams of residual sugar – displays faintly fusil and quarry dust notes as well as hickory nut, almond, walnut and toasted wheat piquancy on the nose. Polished and subtly creamy in texture yet brightly juicy with apple and lemon, this displays an uncanny sense of lift and refinement, perfectly complementing the honeysuckle and heliotrope perfume that waft inner-mouth. You could lose yourself in the ineffability of this wine’s floral diversity and in its resonantly nut and grain low tones. Hints of apple pip lend subtle additional piquancy on a long and at once soothing as well as stimulating finish, with suggestions of oyster liquor becoming prominent as the bottle stands open for a few minutes, and serving to milk the salivary glands for all that they are worth.
A wine that just seems to go from strength to strength is Salon's 1997 Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Brut. The Maison kept back large stocks that they have gradually been disgorging over the last half-dozen years—it's still a commercial release and well worth seeking out. From a bottle disgorged in 2020, the wine wafts from the glass with scents of honeycomb, white flowers and orange rind, complemented by hints of burnt marmalade and exotic fruit. Medium to full-bodied, deep and concentrated, it's notably taut and chiseled for the vintage, with racy acids and a beautifully expressive mid-palate.
This bottle of the 1996 Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Brut was drinking superbly and represents the apotheosis of Blanc de Blancs, unfurling over the course of three hours with a stunningly complex bouquet of citrus oil, confit lemon, dried white flowers and oyster shell, with hints of praline and pastry cream becoming more pronounced as the wine opens up in the glass. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, defined by the incisive spine so typical of the vintage that, here, is cloaked in layers of crisp fleshy and chalky extract. The finish is long, penetrating and saline.
Very clear, silvery hue. The palate is very attractive with a soft, strawberry tinged nose that perhaps lacks a little delineation of other vintages. But the palate is sheer class. Harmonious and refined with and natural quality about it. Elegant and balletic, this is a delight.
Very tight little bead. Mid straw. Very distinctive. Very tightly wound. Introspective. Almost nervous but admirable. A bit like a hugely respected but utterly un-attention-seeking academic. Wonderful texture. Then opens out on the palate. Very firm. Mineral rather than fruit or veg or breadiness
The Champagne exhibited a remarkably primal character. It initially presented a steely, citrus-driven nose with hints of pear, requiring time to fully open in the glass. On the palate, it displayed superb definition and balance, though not as intensely flavored as expected, revealing little in its early stages. After approximately 20 minutes, the finish developed a biscuit note, adding a touch more complexity and character.
Very tight little bead. Mid straw. Very distinctive. Very tightly wound. Introspective. Almost nervous but admirable. A bit like a hugely respected but utterly un-attention-seeking academic. Wonderful texture. Then opens out on the palate. Very firm. Mineral rather than fruit or veg or breadiness
Very tight little bead. Mid straw. Very distinctive. Very tightly wound. Introspective. Almost nervous but admirable. A bit like a hugely respected but utterly un-attention-seeking academic. Wonderful texture. Then, it opens out on the palate. Very firm. Mineral rather than fruit or veg or breadiness
Very tight little bead. Mid straw. Very distinctive. Very tightly wound. Introspective. Almost nervous but admirable. A bit like a hugely respected but utterly un-attention-seeking academic. Wonderful texture. Then opens out on the palate. Very firm. Mineral rather than fruit or veg or breadiness
Very tight little bead. Mid straw. Very distinctive. Very tightly wound. Introspective. Almost nervous but admirable. A bit like a hugely respected but utterly un-attention-seeking academic. Wonderful texture. Then opens out on the palate. Very firm. Mineral rather than fruit or veg or breadiness
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