Salon 'Cuvee S' Blanc De Blancs 1996
SKU
SACH199610 UCAU
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"The vibrancy and drive of the vintage came through in spades in the 1996 Salon" Antonio Galloni
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"It is rich, but so austere and structured." Wine Enthusiast
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"..very fresh, tight and refined, great subtlety and finesse, a beautiful champagne" Huon Hooke
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1 or more bottles$2,580.00
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Antonio Galloni97 points
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Wine Enthusiast97 points
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Huon Hooke97 points
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Wine Spectator95 points
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Jancis Robinson18.5 points
Editors notes
The 1996 vintage is comparable to the legendary 1928, one of the greatest vintages in Champagne history.
With fine, active bubbles, it has both the electricity and impertinence of youth, yet shows complexity and layers of aromas. On the palate, Salon Le Mesnil displays a remarkable subtlety of flavors with touches of green apples, fresh citrus – lemon and grapefruit – building into mellow hints of ripe pear and kiwi.
Champagne Salon is a masterpiece of complexity, created for pleasure, pure and simple. A truly profound wine! Created in 1911 with first vintage 1905, Champagne Salon is the creation of one man, a champagne connoisseur enchanted then seduced by the terroir of Le Mesnil. 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.
Details
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Wine Type
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Vintage
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Variety
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Brand
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Location
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Cellaring
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Closure
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Alcohol Percentage
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Bottle Size
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Oak Type
Tasting Profile
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Light (Light)Full (Full)
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Low Tannin (Low Tannin)Tannic (Tannic)
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Sweet (Sweet)Dry (Dry)
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Low Acidity (Low Acidity)High Acidity (High Acidity)
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Aroma
- Creamy
- Lemon
- Mineral
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Palate
- Apple
- Cream
- Lemon
Food Pairings
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Cheese -
Fish
Critic Scores & reviews
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Antonio Galloni
97"The vibrancy and drive of the vintage came through in spades in the 1996 Salon, which was flat-out stunning. The 1996 remains a youngster, but is immensely beautiful, even at this stage. Several recent bottles have been just as stunning."
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Wine Enthusiast
97"The latest release from Salon, this just explodes in the mouth with mineral, steel and flint. The tiny mousse has flavors of yeast and just a touch of toast. It is rich, but so austere and structured. Like many Salon Champagnes, this will age for 20 years or more."
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Huon Hooke
97"A great Blanc de Blancs; very fresh, tight and refined, great subtlety and finesse, a beautiful champagne, coiled and ready to strike. Scents of citrus fruits and small flowers."
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Wine Spectator
95"A deep, vinous style, with understated power and grace. The lemon verbena, toast and honey aromas and flavors are propelled by the well-integrated structure and fine bubbles. There's just a hint of greenness, marking its youthful impetuosity. Has great length. Best from 2010 through 2030."
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Jancis Robinson MW
18.5"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."
Other vintages
Love this wine? Here's a list of other vintages we have in stock if you'd like to try them as well.
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- Variety Chardonnay / Pinot Noir
- Vintage 1990
- Brand Champagne Salon
- Cellaring 15 Plus Years
- Wine Type Sparkling
- Alcohol Percentage 12.0% Alcohol
Salon 'Cuvee S' Blanc De Blancs 1990-
Wine Spectator97 points
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Stephen Tanzer93+ points
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Wine Enthusiast91 points
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Julia Harding M17.5 points
$3,450.00 -
- Variety Chardonnay / Pinot Noir
- Vintage 1995
- Brand Champagne Salon
- Cellaring 15 Plus Years
- Wine Type Sparkling
- Alcohol Percentage 12.0% Alcohol
Salon 'Cuvee S' Blanc De Blancs 1995-
Wine Spectator96 points
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Stephen Tanzer94+ points
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Antonio Galloni94 points
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Neal Martin94* points
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Josh Raynolds93 points
$2,599.00
Current auction
All current auctions for this wine & any different vintages.
Locations
France
Wine is being produced throughout France and has been done for over 2,500 years with certain Châteaux dating their history back to Roman times, around 6th Century BC. Ranking second in the world in per-capita consumption and first in total production quantity. More so than the overall quantity of wine is the quantity of truly great wines coming out of France makes the nation the envy of wine-making nations worldwide.
Two concepts pivotal to the higher end French wines, in particular, are the idea of 'terroir' and the Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC) system. Terroir refers to the way the geography, geology and climate find their way into the glass, telling a story of the origin of the wine. The AOC was set up in 1935 and has the primary goal of protecting the authenticity of the wines and the livelihoods of the producers. Appellation rules strictly define which varieties of grapes and winemaking practices are approved for classification in each of France's several hundred geographically defined appellations, which can cover entire regions, individual villages or in some cases, like in Burgundy even specific vineyards.
Classic wine regions in France include Champagne (home of Champagne), Burgundy (Pinot Noir and Chardonnay), Bordeaux (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot), Alsace (Aromatic varietals), Loire Valley (Chenin Blanc, Crémant) and the Rhône Valley (Syrah, Grenache Mourvedre)
The Bordeaux classification of 1855 is still in use, as is the Sauternes and Barsac Classification of the same year. Wines from certain regions can be bought En Primeur, which is when the wine is sold prior to it being bottled.
Champagne
Champagne is a wine region to the north-east of Paris where wine has been grown since the Romans first planted in the 5th century and the region is most well known for the sparkling wine that goes by the regions name.
Champagne is made from 3 grapes. The two red grapes Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier and the white grape Chardonnay. All three are commonly blended though a ‘blanc de blanc’ meaning ‘white from white’ indicates that only Chardonnay was used. Conversely a ‘blanc de noir’ or ‘white from black’ indicates that the two red grapes were used.
A common misconception is that Champagne was invented by Dom Pérignon. Although this is not the case, he made considerable contributions to the quality and production methods used in the region. The very first bottles of Champagne were created by accident, and coined ‘the devil’s wine’ for all the popping corks. Sparkling wine in Australia was referred to as Champagne but this practise has long been disallowed.
Methode Champenoise is the traditional method by which Champagne is produced and if you see Millisime on a bottle, it represents the fact that the wine comes from a particular vintage rather than being blended, which is the more common practice.
Icons such as Dom Pérignon and Kristal are world reknowned, but we find as much pleasure in the smaller Champagne houses such as Gosset and Jacquinot. Magnums are perfect for the festive occasions and half bottles are also available.
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Frequently Bought With
About the brand Champagne Salon
Regarded as one of the very best champagnes on the market today, Champagne Salon started out as a venture by a man named Aimé Salon who wanted to create a unique kind of champagne from one kind of grape variety (Chardonnay), in a blanc de blanc style from one vintage with no blending at all. Salon believed that if he gave enough time for the wine to develop, it would result in a phenomenal wine, and he was right. His 1911 'Grand Vin Nature du Mesnil' was the first blanc de blanc champagne to be released in 1921. The grapes used to make the champagne are from the commune Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in the Côte des Blancs subregion of Champagne, and from one hectare of Salon’s own garden. The vintages of Salon are usually kept for 10 + years before being released, and no more than 60,000 bottles are produced in each vintage. Today, the house of Salon is headed by Didier Depond, along with its sister brand, Champagne Delamotte.
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