Het huis Salon is in 1921 opgericht door Eugène-Aimé Salon na een carrière in de bontindustrie. Dit gaf hem de mogelijkheid zijn droom te verwezenlijken. Een perfecte wijn van één druif en van één jaargang. Hij kocht 5 hectare wijngaard in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, waarvan hij alleen de beste druiven gebruikte, de rest verkocht hij aan anderen.

Na zijn dood in 1943 is het in 1989 overgenomen door de Laurent-Perrier groep die Salon samengevoegd heeft met Delamotte. Sinds de oprichting zijn 37 jaargangen Salon uitgekomen.

Salon is uniek in Champagne omdat het maar één wijn uitbrengt, een vintage blanc de blancs van de eigen wijngaard van 1,5 ha in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger (Grand Cru) of het beste stuk van de Côtes des Blancs onder Epernay. Er worden per jaargang dat Salon uitkomt (alleen in de beste jaren) 10.000 tot 15.000 flessen van gemaakt. In de minder briljante jaargangen worden de druiven van die wijngaarden gebruikt voor Champagne Delamotte.

Salon ondergaat geen malolatictische gisting, blijft zeer lang op de droesem liggen en krijgt een zeer lichte dosage. Het resultaat is een zeer bijzondere wijn met een grote diepgang van smaak en elegantie met een grote fraîcheur. Bovendien heeft Salon het beste rijpings potentieel van alle champagnes. Champagne Salon is een wijn om te bewaren.

Enkele feiten op een rij waarom Salon zo bijzonder is:
- Wordt alleen gemaakt van Chardonnay uit de eigen wijngaard in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, een van de meest prestigieuze grand cru's van de Côtes des Blancs;
- Slechts druiven van wijnstokken van over de 40 jaar oud worden gebruikt en dan nog met een zeer laag rendement;
- Het is de enige wijn ter wereld die niet elk jaar wijn maakt (dan gaat het naar Delamotte toe);
- Salon krijgt geen malolactische gisting wat er zorgt voor een zeer lange bewaarpotentie;
- Het contact met de droesem (lie) is vaak 8 jaar of langer

Salon Cuvee 'S' Millésime 1999;

Wine Spectator, 18 april 2011,
94/100
The Salon Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Le Mesnil 1999, with a dosage of about 5 grams/liter, was essentially dry. Though reticent on the nose, it's texture was very creamy and the elegant profile supported the citrus, hazelnut, graphite and toast flavors. With air, it gained richness, yet ended with freshness, what Cristini called "an ascending note." It reminded me of some Salon vintages of the past, such as the 1985 and 1988, though less opulent than the '85. It was disgorged in October 2010.

Decanter, april 2011,
18/20
Pale straw hue with fine bead. Intense nose. Marked vinosity, almost as if there was some Pinot Noir in the blend. Palate a touch austere. Mineral and applke notes. Enormous weight and depth tightly wound. Long, powerful finish. Drink 2012-2022

Jancis Robinson, 11 maart 2011,
18+/20
100% Chardonnay, dosage 5 g/l. Clotted cream, apple pie, chargrilled bread, cookie dough, cheese and mushroom on the nose - fine and refined. Bone dry, searing almost, and terribly subtle on the palate. Definite complexity though, and with some time in the glass displays something of a Riesling-like petrol character, and a little salinity too. (RH) Drink 2014-2026

Decanter, 8 maart 2011,
Champagne Salon has launched its 1999 vintage with a fish and chip lunch in London’s Notting Hill.
The ultra-exclusive Salon, of which there have been only 37 vintages since its founding in 1905, was launched today at Geales fish restaurant with a traditional British lunch of battered haddock and chips with mushy peas and tartare sauce.
Didier Depond, winemaker and president of Salon described 1999 as a ‘mature, rich and abundant’ year, and the wine as ‘sophisticated’ and ‘tamed’.
London-based journalists and critics, tasting the £200 wine, found it variously ‘opulent, with flavours of brioche, white bread, white flowers, earth and delicate yeast flavours.’
While importers Corney & Barrow suggest the wine can be drunk from ‘now until 2050’, with magnums set to last until 2060, Depond said for him it was too young, and would not be ready for five to 10 years.
Salon is made only from Chardonnay from 19 vineyards in Le Mesnil and is matured for at least 10 years in bottle. The 1999 was bottled in 2000 and will be disgorged in batches of 2000 bottles every six months. A total of 50,000 bottles are produced.
Vinification is entirely in stainless steel – introduced 40 years ago, the last innovation to be made at Salon – and there is no malolactic fermentation.
The dosage is a bone-dry five grams per litre of residual sugar. The Mesnil sur Oger terroir is characterised by thin topsoil, with the vines are rooted in deep chalk, ‘which accounts for the minerality,’ Depond said.
The next vintages of Salon to be released will be the 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. The last, Depond says, is possibly ‘the finest Salon he has ever tasted.’
As for the fish and chip match – the brainchild of Corneys Champagne buyer Rebecca Palmer – Depond was delighted.
‘It’s the first time I have ever had Salon with haddock and chips,’ he said. ‘For me the match is perfect.’ The creamy mousse and opulent minerality of the wine did indeed cut through the batter and robust, perfectly-cooked fish, was the general opinion.

Salon Cuvee 'S' Millésime 1997;

Decanter, april 2011,
18/20
A fine, elegant wine with depth and intensity. More feminine in style than the 1996 or 1999. Persistent, delicate bead, the nose fresh, pure and constant with floral, citrus notes. Linear, long and well-defined. Drink 2011-2020

Rober Parker, december 2010,
95/100
Salon’s 1997 Brut Blanc de Blancs is drop-dead gorgeous. There is a beautiful tension between the intense minerality of Mesnil and the warmth of the vintage. Textural depth, brilliance and expressive inner perfume are the hallmarks of this gorgeous Blanc de Blancs. Flowers, mint and crisp varietal fruit linger on the impeccable finish. This is a particularly youthful, vibrant disgorgement of the 1997 that can be enjoyed now or cellared. Disgorged First Trimester, 2010 Anticipated maturity: 2012-2027.

Guide Hachette 2011,
*** + Coup de coeur
Natif de Pocancy, village proche de la Côte des Blancs, Eugène-Aimé Salon fait fortune dans la fourrure. Gastronome réputé, il se pique de produire le champagne “parfait”. Ses principes? Un terroir réputé, celui du Mesnil-sur-Oger; un cépage fin, le chardonnay; les meilleur jus: les cuvées; les meilleurs années. La maison fait aujourd’hui partie du groupe Laurent-Perrier, mais la règle n’a pas changé. 1911 fut le premier millésime; 1997 n’est que le trente-sixième. Dégusté l’an dernier, il avait charmé les dégustateurs et obtenu deux étoiles. Avec une année de maturation supplémentaire, il les impressionne. La robe est belle, dorée, animée d’une bulle fine. Le nez, complexe, associe avec élégance fraîcheur et maturité, agrumes confits et notes empyreumatiques. Le toucher est soyeux, le palais harmonieux et long. Une grande noblesse.

Wine & Spirits, december 2009
95/100
The radiant green-gold color of this wine matches the golden yellow and white peach savor of its fruit. As is typical of the Salon style, this is youthful on release, with acidity that tightens around its bold flavors and restricts the expansion of the layers of those flavors. In the end, this is all about earthiness, as if digging a tunnel through limestone. Profound in balance, complexity and minerality as well as persistence on the palate.

Wine Spectator, 15 december 2009
93/100
A mix of freshness and maturity, this bubbly offers lemon, toasted brioche and ginger flavors, with a hint of coffee. Builds on the palate, with a mineral note underneath. Sleek and finely textured, almost creamy even, with a crisp, mouthwatering finish. Drink now through 2025. – B.S.

Wine Spectator Insider, 7 oktober 2009
93/100
A mix of freshness and maturity, this bubbly offers lemon, toasted
brioche, ginger and a hint of coffee flavors. It builds on the palate,
with a mineral note underneath. It’s sleek and finely textured,
almost creamy even, with a crisp, mouthwatering finish. Drink now
through 2025. - B.S.

Gault Millau Guide Vin 2009
19/20
Salon Blanc de Blanc 1997 qui se voit prendre beaucoup de plenitude et de complexite grace a l'apparition de notes miellees et d'amande. Un vin immense pas sa droiture et son charme elegant, dans un registre tres mineral, de pomme et de fleurs.

Robert Parker The Wine Advocate December 2008
95/100
The 1997 Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil possesses striking detail and depth in a surprisingly generous style for this wine. An inner core of perfumed varietal fruit emerges from the glass, along with expressive aromas of smoke, minerals, mint, flowers and licorice, all of which are woven together with extraordinary elegance. The finish is long, sweet and sublime. Everything about this wine speaks to elegance, but in 1997 Salon is also a pleasure to drink young, unlike the 1996 which remains painfully backward. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2027.

Wine & Spirits, december 2008
95/100
"Put aside thoughts of other 1997 Champagnes you may have tasted and consider this in the context of Salon. It is not the 1996, but it is pretty great on its own terms, a pure chardonnay essence cut from the limestone of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Bubbles suspend the flavors of autumn apples, brown butter and orange zest in the center of the wine’s minerality. It’s almost too powerful to drink now without decanting (it benefits from a wine glass rather than a flute). Better to approach it when it’s closer to 20 years of age."

http://www.wineanorak.com/champagne/delamotte.htm - september 2008
93/100
Very toasty, complex, intense nose is bready, toasty and broad. The palate is intense, taut and savoury with some herby notes and tannic grip. Really dense and complex with great ageing potential.

Perswijn september 2008 (als hoogste topcuvée)
18/20
lichter jaar voor Salon, maar nog altijd zeer krachtig met veel toast, noten, tabak, rokerig en complex, prachtige lengte.

Wine Spectator, June 2008
93/100
Subtle ginger, floral and citrus aromas build to flavors of lemon pie, honey and hazelnut. Elegant and refined, with a firm underlying structure and a long aftertaste. Drink now through 2020. 1,667 cases imported. -BS

Jancis Robinson.com, May 2008
"Salon 1997 Champagne is certainly extremely individual: very tense and tight-knit with a sort of filigree texture, athletic rather than corpulent - really quite delicate with an exotic whiff of incense. It would make a super-luxurious aperitif (I can't quite see it being substantial enough to drink with food) at any point over the next five to 10 years, I would have thought. It's rather a ballerina whereas the 1999 waiting in the wings sounds a bit of a boxer."- Jancis Robinson, Purple Pages 27 may 2008

Nederlands Gilde van Sommelliers (NGS) :
Champagne Salon Blanc de Blancs Brut 1997
“Salon maakt slechts een Champagne en alleen in de grote jaren; malo wordt vermeden om frisheid te bewaren; een ontdekkingsreis in de wereld van de subtiele smaken, met onder meer gember, bloemen, grapefruit, groene appel, brioche, citroentaart, honing en hazelnoten; hemelse zuren, zuivere frisheid, prachtige balans tussen zuren en fruitigheid, ultieme verfijning en complexiteit met een hechte structuur en enorme lengte; door mineralen omgeven rijp en zacht fruit vormt de kern van dit alles en tegelijk de dubbele bodem, want deze Salon is nu al zo onweerstaanbaar lekker; presenteert zich optimaal in een tulpglas en minder goed in het traditionele Champagneglas”

Salon Cuvee 'S' Millésime 1996

Robert Parker, maart 2009
97+/100
This bottle of the 1996 Salon is like every other bottle I have had recently, which is to say tight, tight, tight. Still, this painfully unevolved, mineral-driven wine shows tons of potential in its floral, white fruits. In a recent tasting of the 1979 Champagnes, the Salon was one of the finest wines, but it needed several hours of air to open up. Although the 1996 is pure magic in a glass, it remains a wine for the exceedingly patient.

La Revue du vin de France, december 2007/januari 2008
19,5/20
Les notes iodées et salines de la finale signent ce vin fabuleux de précision aromatique. Quelle ampleur et quelle tension dans ce Salon ciselé, qui nécessite impérativement d'etre attendu encore au moins trois ans!

Wine Spectator, The Top 100, dec, jan 2008
Rubriek: (Highest scoring releases.)
95/100

Wine Spectator, The Top 100, dec, jan 2008
Rubriek: Bruce Sandersons Recommended Champagnes
95/100
A deep, vinous style, this has understated power and grace, offering lemon verbena, toast and honey aromas and flavors.

Wine Spectator, december 2007
95/100
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. Great length. Best from 2010 through 2030. - B.S.

Wine Enthousiast Magazine, Editors Choice, November 2007, Roger Voss
97/100
"From the same 20 parcels in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger as the house has used since its founding in 1921, this is the latest release from Salon. It explodes in the mouth with mineral, steel and flint. The tiny mousse has flavours of yeast with a touch of toast. It is rich, but also austere and structured. like many Salon Champagnes, this will age for 20 years or more."

Wine & Spirits
96/100
‘This great vintage of Salon is beginning to show its full stature, the aroma shimmering with bold spice, the powerfully brisk acidity giving a classic '96 profile. The flavors are subtle at first, feeling complete, with more refinement than detail. Then air brings out the layers impacted in its youthful fruit, a spectrum of flavour from tangerine zest to hazelnut, sophisticated enough to set the heart racing. Salon is built to evolve for decades; this '96 will live longer than most."

Wine Spectator, december 2006
93/100
Graphite, tobacco and coconut aromas and flavors wrap around the firm spine of this elegant, powerful Champagne. Lulls you midpalate, then comes back in a wave of vanilla on the finish.
Drink now through 2020. -B.S.

Wine Enthousiast Magazine, Editors Choice, november 2006
95/100
Bone dry, this is a stunning wine that shows the aging qualities of the 1996 vintage as well as the intensity of Salon. It is packed with acidity and firm green fruits, leaving a twist of lemon and nuts on the finish.

Perswijn oktober/november 2006
18.5/20
Prachtige getoast, appel en citrus, sap, klassiek, reserve, goede zuren, groots.

Salon Cuvee 'S' Millésime 1995

La Revue du vin de France, mei 2006
Délicieux à boire, avec une bouche tendre et onctueuse. Ce vin est d’un caractère moins incisif que le 1996 à venir.

Le guide Hachette des Vins 2006
*** (vin exceptionnel)
S’il y a une marque légendaire, c’est Salon, créée en 1911 par Aimé Salon, aujourd’hui contrôlée par le groupe Laurent-Perrier. Cette maison n’élabore que des champagnes millésimés, issus exclusivement de chardonnay du Mesnil-sur-Oger : ceux-ci ne sont commercialisés qu’après huit à douze ans de garde. Le 95 est un modèle. Ses arômes de brioche et de fruits noirs cuits, mêlés à des notes de caramel au lait offrent une approche déliceuse, puis la bouche s’impose, équilibrée, d’une grande persistance, et plus important, élégante. Un classicisme couroné par un coup de cœur. (NM)

Classement des meillieurs vins de france 2006
9/10

Wine behind the label 2005 – Philip Williamson and David Moore
*****/*****

Wine Spectator, oktober 17, 2005
96/100
This is assertive and grainy in texture, a big-boned Champagne that's powerful and intensely flavored. Biscuit, graphite, honeysuckle, peach and floral notes come together, defined by the firm structure and lasting throughout the complex finish. It needs a little more time for the elements to harmonize. Drink now through 2018.

Guide Hachette des Vins de France 2005
** vin remarquable

La Revue du vin de France, januari 2004
****(*)
Délicieux à boire, avec une bouche tendre et onctueuse. Ce vin est d’un caractère moins incisif que le 1996 à venir.

Wine Spectator, november 2004
New releases 94/100
Tightly wound, this is marked by its bracing acidity, which keeps the flavors from loosening their grip. Finely wrought, there are glimpes of coffee, citrus candy and grilled hazelnuts, but they require more time to emerge. A few years aging on the cork should help. Firm, tactile finish. Best from 2006 through 2020.

Wine Enthusiast, December 2003
94/100
’A golden essence of chardonnay, this wine trumpets all its fleshy fruit in a structured mouthful of flavor, then turns brisk, toward a salty mineral tone. The pure chardonnay flavor lasts with that limestone minerality, a dynamic taste that lasts for minutes after each sip. So young, this is like drinking stone. Salon is built for long-term aging; this will need another decade before it begins to show its best, then should continue to develop for decades after that.’

Wine & Spirits, December 2003
94/100

Wine Spectator, November 15, 2003
90/100
’Minerally, exuding pencil shaving, smoke and coffee aromas and flavors.
Taut and sinewy, this medium-bodied bubbly is approachable now, but will improve with a little time in the bottle.
Try with food.’

Champagne & Sparkling Wine Guide 2003
98/100 (nb de hoogste rating van alle 1995-ers)
‘The best salon since 1982.’
- Tom Stevenson

Salon Cuvee 'S' Millésime 1990

Le guide Fleurus des Vins 2006
Robe dorée aux reflets argentés. Bulles fines. Nez rélévant des arômes de brioche et de fruits blancs (pêche, poire). Bouche ample, riche et intense. Finale sur une note vanillée.
Un vin de champagne exceptionnel.

Classement des meillieurs vins de france 2006
9,5/10

Wine behind the label 2005 – Philip Williamson and David Moore
*****/*****
(super 5 stars, restricted to the true classics, out-andout world class

Guide Gilbert & Gaillard Les Meilleurs Vignerons de France 2003
96/100
‘Belle robe d’un jaune doré soutenu. Nez épanoui, complexe et évolutif qui délivre des notes de tarte chaude, de pomme au four, de fruits confits avec de légères touches d’épices douces. La bouche, une élégante austérité, cumule tant la corpulance et l’expression aromatique que la fraîcheur et un côte aérien qui signe une construction parfaite.’

Le Guide Fleurus (les Sommeliers) des Vins 2003
18/20 (17-19 Vin Superbe à Exceptionel)
’Robe jaune-or aux reflets brillants, avec des bulles très fines. Nez de fruits blancs confits rehaussés de notes torréfiées, de fruits secs et d’une touche épicé. Bouche fraîche, soyeuse et fine, se révélant d’une longuer exceptionelle. Un champagne tout en finesse de de grande classe, à déguster comme une grande bourgogne blanc. Il est d’ailleurs issu de chardonnay exculisivement .’

Guide Hachette des Vins 2003 *
’ Maison exceptionelle qui ne produit que des champagnes millésimés, toujours blanc de blancs, toujours issus de raisins récoltés sur la commune du Mesnil-sur-Oger, classée grand cru. Une champagne <très spécial>, écrit un dégustateur qui ajoute : <ample, floral, complexe, empyreumatique et long>. Or brilliant, cristalline, la robe n’a pas une ride. Et la bouche est conforme au millésime.

Winespectator, november 2001, februari 2002
97/100
'Brilliant stuff. Vinous, with a patina of nutty maturity offset by a citrus- and honeysuckle-tinged freshness, all embraced by a taut, silky structure. The best is the finish, a kaleidoscope of biscuit, fig and walnut that goes on and on' "a forceful mix of flowers, honeysuckle and fig nuances with an endless finish. The powerful 1990 Salon adds weight and depth to Salon's characteristic intensity, making this an intriguing contrast to the taut elegance of the Krug.'

World Encyclopedia of Champagne, Christie’s, 1998
’Obviously exceptional, promising to be exquiste, from the elegant, flowery aromas to the beautifull ripe acidity.’
- Tom Stevenson

Robert M. Parker Jr, Salon 1990
96/100