Champagne Salon Blanc de Blancs 2012

The desire for perfection created in the infinite facets of a yellow diamond, the exquisite surprise of a tasting that takes your breath away: the pale gold of a wine held up to the light, the subtle glint of green heralding minerals, stone, chalk – so symbolic of Salon – together with wafts of fruit, dried roses in abundance, never-ending flavors that go on and on. Its freshness and slender form, precise, aristocratic acidity promising decades of glorious aging ahead, founded upon an impeccable structure. Allowed to breathe momentarily, Salon 2012 unleashes its seductive powers on the palate, with notes of pineapple, lychee, a touch of smoke; caressing with a knowing smile as beguiling and mysterious as the Mona Lisa, Salon does not reveal every secret. An alliance of glorious opponents: all is fair in love and war for the love of Salon 2012. For those in the know, the connoisseurs of today and tomorrow. Savor the flash of a smile, like a flame as it catches fire.

Initially mild-mannered, winter 2012 unleashed its full force in February, with freezing temperatures of minus 10, even minus 20C. Then March came in like a lamb. Tender buds were beginning to emerge, only for April to bring heavy rains with clear, and therefore glacial, nights. A cold snap during flowering did not help matters, without even so much as a ray of sunshine in the offing. The vines looked pitiful. And then more rain, right up until July. Too much rain. The vines did not take it kindly. August arrived at last, the hottest month in the calendar, but the first few days were rather too hot: a heatwave! The vines really had been through it all: too wet, then too dry, a paucity of grapes; what would the harvest bring? It began in Le Mesnil on 17th September. The vintage had everything all along: sugars, fine acidity, magnificent potential… the only thing left to do now, was wait. And see the vignerons smile once more.

Salon honors the memory of its founder, a century on. In the 1910s, Eugène-Aimé Salon had a vision, a dream: to create a Champagne for all time, from a single grape variety, Chardonnay, laid bare in all its subtlety; from a single great terroir, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger; and from a single superlative year, the vintage. A stand-alone defined by its singularity; subtle and complex, the world’s ultimate champagne. Champagne Salon is the absolute embodiment of this quest for perfection. It contains within it the poignant beauty of nature, reflecting its long, slow toil in the silence of the cellar. This is where that astonishing backdrop of savory minerals emerged, that sensation of chalk in the mouth: an immediate hit, building slowly, gradually, ultimately all-enveloping. It was here that this virile wine took form, exceeding all expectations; here that its beautiful minerality was forged, heralding a wine with limitless aging potential. In achieving perfect balance, nature’s work is complete. The name Le Mesnil resonates in a special way with lovers of great wine. Nestled in the heart of the Côte des Blancs, 100% Chardonnay and 100% Grand Cru, this is the king of Champagne vineyards. It is here that the most profound expression of Chardonnay’s delicate freshness truly comes to the fore, where magnanimous nature offers a wine that is purity itself. This Champagne is produced from a 2.5-acre 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 20th century.