Cuvèe S Le Mesnil 2004

The wine in this vintage

2004 was an abundant, even vintage in Champagne, fresh and classic in character and ideal for Côte des Blancs Chardonnay, which retained bright acidity and clear-cut aromas. Salon Cuvée S Le Mesnil 2004 is an interpretation of great purity: lemon, grapefruit, green apple, hawthorn blossom and chalk, with subtle notes of almond and brioche emerging with air. The palate is sharp, taut and almost crystalline, with a long, saline finish. Wine Enthusiast rated it 98 points. Still young, this is a Salon to wait for patiently, as its evolution will be long and fascinating, gradually revealing its hidden depth.

The producer · Salon

Salon is perhaps the rarest and most legendary Champagne in existence. It was created in the early twentieth century by Eugène-Aimé Salon, a Parisian furrier with roots in Champagne, who wanted a wine for himself and his friends alone: a pure Blanc de Blancs from a single village and a single year. The first vintage was 1905, and the house began selling it in the 1920s, when it soon became the house Champagne at Maxim’s in Paris. Since 1989 Salon has belonged to the Laurent-Perrier group, alongside its sister house Delamotte. The philosophy has never changed: one cru, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in the Côte des Blancs; one grape, Chardonnay; one vintage, declared only when quality is exceptional, so that over more than a century only a few dozen vintages have been made. The grapes come from the small estate vineyard, the Jardin de Salon, and from selected parcels in the village. Without malolactic fermentation and after long ageing in the cellars, Salon is born taut and almost austere, revealing with time unrivalled complexity and depth.

Critics' scores

• 98 Wine Enthusiast
• 94 Wine Spectator
• 18.5/20 Jancis Robinson

Technical details

Producer

Salon

Region

Champagne

Country

Francia

Type

Bollicine

Vintage

2004

When to drink

Not yet at its peak

Critics' average

96/100

Sizes

75 cl, Magnum 150 cl, Case of 6 × 75 cl

eWibe code

0750104