Champagne Salon 2008

CHAMPAGNE SALON OENOTHEQUE 2008 EXCLUSIVE TO CORNEY & BARROW IN THE UK

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“A single terroir: the Côte des Blancs; a single cru: Le Mesnil-sur-Oger; a single grape: Chardonnay; a single vintage, only if exceptional; then quite simply: time.

Salon is the legacy of a very singular man indeed.”

REBECCA PALMER

THE STORY OF SALON The story of Salon’s creator, Eugène-Aimé Salon, reads like a picaresque novel, a tale of rags-to-riches – or in this case: furs.

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Maxim’s restaurant menu, c.1920s

Eugène-Aimé Salon, c.1930s

The child of a cart-maker from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, the young Aimé Salon left for Paris, finding work for a fur merchant, where he rose from messenger boy to managing director, making the company and himself a sizeable fortune in the process. Work hard, play hard? Aimé Salon mixed the two assiduously. Very much the bon vivant as well as shrewd businessman, enthralled by Paris and its glittering social circuit, he even had his own table at Maxim’s, the hottest address of the time, where he would meet clients and lovers alike. He was also passionate about champagne and apparently consumed a great deal of it in the company of his glamorous friends. And this is where the improbable story of Cuvée ‘S’ began.

Le Mesnil-sur-Oger to consult with his brotherin-law Marcel Guillaume, a cellar master. It was he who explained to Aimé Salon the special nature of Le Mesnil’s soils, the exceptional acid profile of its grapes, and their potential to yield wines of great power, purity, and longevity. At this point perhaps, had anyone other than Aimé been driving the project, Cuvee ‘S’ might never have happened. For this was the land of the chardonnay grape, very much second fiddle to pinot noir back then; nobody had ever made a champagne exclusively from chardonnay, any more than they would consider making a wine from a single vintage or vineyard! Fortunately, for us, Aimé Salon lived by his own rules.

Some say that Aimé Salon decided to create this champagne for his own amusement, or for a bet, or to impress his contemporaries - who could possibly have the cash, the connections or the insider’s skill to produce a champagne with their name on it? Others believe the story of the eccentric and aesthete, determined to create the perfect champagne; either way, it is clear that this became something of an obsessive project. Aimé Salon returned home to

And so the quest began, with chardonnay the new muse. Marcel’s little black book of vineyards and vignerons was plundered and Aimé Salon set to work on an exacting plan. Just imagine the incongruity of it: the Parisian entrepreneur down from town, gliding past horse and cart in his gleaming Hispano Suiza J12, treading the vineyards in his shiny city shoes, in pursuit of the finest plots, the most favourable gradient, the purest chalk. He developed an exacting

Maxim’s Restaurant

Style and elegance of the 1920s Paris

google-worthy algorithm to rate each harvest, based essentially on fruit ripeness, character, acid profile and balance. Had the grapes attained the Salon standard? One year in three, more or less; Salon was unflinching in rejecting a harvest he judged to be less than perfect.

in tiny quantities to share with friends and family, who eventually persuaded him to expand it into a commercial venture. So in 1911, Aimé Salon bought his first vineyard – the single hectare plot now known as le jardin de Salon – from which Salon is still made, along with some 20 other exceptional vineyard parcels dotted across Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The 1911 vintage was launched in 1921, at Maxim’s of course, where it was poured as the House champagne. It was here, in the heady atmosphere of 1920s and 30s Paris, that the wine’s reputation was made, and it continued to be sold here exclusively until the 1950s.

In the cellar, yet more criteria: only the purest juice would be used from the first pressings, the rest cast aside. Next: the lengthy prise de mousse and maturation - which can surely only have been trial and error at the beginning: try a bottle, wait a bit, try again, wait a bit longer, eventually reach conclusion that said wine requires a minimum of 10 years horizontal in a dark room in the intimate company of its spent yeast lees. This was one of Aimé’s great achievements: he understood that chardonnay’s firm, taut structure could indeed attain greatness and finesse, but that only time would confer charm, curve and allure. In creating Salon, he was to transform the perception of chardonnay itself in the world of champagne.

1905 marked Aimé Salon’s first vintage, produced

A single terroir, a single vintage, a single grape, and time – Salon is the legacy of a very singular man indeed. Thanks in no small part to Didier Depond, the similarly dynamic and charismatic Président of Champagne Salon and its sister house Champagne Delamotte since 1997, the exacting methods developed by Aimé Salon continue to be upheld to this day. Salon Cuvée ‘S’ is made from only the most exceptional vintages, in small quantities, and released only after at least a decade’s ageing.

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CHAMPAGNE SALON OENOTHEQUE 2008 Salon - the original blanc de blancs champagne, the pioneer and icon of a style for all time. An exercise in precision, Salon is as uncompromising as it is enthralling.

The legacy and achievement of one man, the idiosyncratic Eugène-Aimé Salon, this is a wine forged in singularity. The fruit of a single grape: chardonnay; a single terroir: the Côte des Blancs; a single grand cru village: Le Mesnil-sur-Oger.

And of course, a single vintage, declared only when certain, exacting conditions – those prescribed by Eugène-Aimé himself - are met. Produced in minuscule quantities with meticulous care, Salon is as rare as it is refined. The ultimate insider’s champagne, Salon stands alone.

REBECCA PALMER September 2019

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SALON OENOTHEQUE 2008 - BACKGROUND The Salon Oenothèque 2008 contains: 1 magnum of Salon 2008, --2 bottles of Salon 2007, --2 bottles of Salon 2006, --2 bottles of Salon 2004.

Disgorged January 2019 The cases will be shipped in tranches from September 2019 to March 2021. We will do our best to tailor the timings to your needs, and will discuss this with you.

Please note due to the nature of the case and its composition, it will not be possible to split the case for delivery.

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2008 was an exceptional year that led ultimately to exceptional decisions. The smallest harvest on record at Salon - less than 25% of the usual volume – it was also of extraordinary quality.

Tasting the vins clairs in early 2009, Président Didier Depond and Chef de Cave Michel Fauconnet were immediately struck by their profile, comparable in stature to the legendary Salon of 1982, 1966 and 1928. They decided almost instantly to bottle the entire production in magnums, the ideal format to confer the slow, delicate élevage appropriate to the vintage, and their absolute commitment to quality. This would result in just 8,000 magnums being produced, a commercial headache, but one that would surely be addressed by subsequent vintages, by way of cosmic compensation. However, the following trio of vintages refused to kowtow to the law of averages: 2009, 2010 and 2011 all fell short of Salon’s exacting standards, and were not made.

It was this unusual combination of circumstances, that gave rise to the concept of the Salon Oenothèque 2008. This unique mixed case of wines, released on 18th September 2019, is a defining moment for Champagne Salon, setting it apart once again. In its uniqueness, rarity and absolute quality – enduring hallmarks of this discreet house since the outset – the Salon Oenothèque 2008 honours the legacy and audacious, pioneering spirit of its idiosyncratic founder Eugène-Aimé Salon. Alongside Salon 2008 in magnum, this special collection brings together recent and final disgorgements of the three preceding Salon vintages – 2007, 2006, 2004 – marking the last time these vintages will be released for sale.

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SALON 2008 VINTAGE & TASTING NOTES 2008 has garnered a reputation for being a stellar vintage, however the growing season was by no means a smooth ride for vignerons in the Côte des Blancs or indeed the wider Champagne region.

Winter was mild, with a rainy spring that replenished water reserves. A glacial start to June put the brakes on progress, and the vines were hesitant to flower, leading to significantly reduced crops. Fortunately, temperatures fell more into line as the month continued, promising a more positive fruit set.

July brought moderate, even conditions to help the fruit on its way, turbo boosted by a resplendent August. While a dull, grey start to September halted progress, ripening continued slowly but surely, the grapes gradually gaining in power and concentration. Salon’s vineyards in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger were harvested on 17th September, the berries in pristine condition with an astonishing balance of sugar and acidity.

SALON 2008 MAGNUM - TASTING NOTES 2008 is the epitome of Salon, an extraordinary wine, aromatically, texturally, structurally, a paradox as it is so often described, defying definition. Didier Depond calls this the ‘dream vintage’. Its classic white flower perfume moves knowingly between innocence and exoticism.

The palate is crystalline, fine as silk, with immense power building in the mouth, its incisive chalky acids commanding attention while infinite tiny bubbles smooth and titillate. Still young of course, it is less austere than it is grand, an exercise in grace through precision.

Corney & Barrow Score 19.5 - 20 Disgorged January 2019 Dosage 6.2g/l

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SALON 2007 VINTAGE NOTES The 2007 vintage yielded mixed results in Champagne. Weather conditions in 2007 were neatly summarised in an official local report as ‘climatologie chaotique’, an apt description.

The challenges led to significant heterogeneity in style and quality across the wider region, in fact a swathe of prominent names did not even declare the vintage. Fortunately for followers of Salon, the conditions favoured the Côte des Blancs and the chardonnay variety.

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Winter 2007/08 was unusually mild. This shifted forward the entire season, with an early bud-break and hot April pointing to harvest as early as mid-August. However, unsettled weather through May and part of June led to uneven flowering across the region, altering fortunes and timings.

Fortunately Le Mesnil and neighbouring villages in the Côte des Blancs were spared the greater vagaries and Salon set a healthy crop. The latter part of June and the whole of July were promising, with warm, sunny conditions across the region, but a dismal August led many growers to harvest before the grapes were fully ripe, fearing the impact of rains.

Those who waited, were rewarded handsomely, as the last week of August saw a return to sunshine. This, together with a persistent, dry, east wind, brought the grapes to maturity, and mitigated the threat of disease. As the season reached full term, Salon’s grapes attained perfect ripeness – rich in sugars with fine incisive acids.

Salon 2007 bears all the hallmarks of a classic Salon vintage: the purity and power, the haunting perfume both delicate and decadent, the texture refined as silk; then, the unmistakeable backbone of acid that cuts a cool swathe through the palate, leaving the stony imprint of the terroir.

Corney & Barrow score 18.5 to 19 Disgorged January 2019 Dosage 5g/l

SALON 2006 VINTAGE NOTES

SALON 2004 VINTAGE NOTES

There has been much comment on 2006 champagnes, widely acknowledged for their heterogeneity, due in part to highly varied weather conditions across the region.

The 2004 vintage in Champagne remains impressive for both its quality and quantity, a rare and happy phenomenon in the wine world and particularly in more marginal climates.

The general consensus is that these wines display their richness more than their acidities, less incisive perhaps in a season that saw considerable midsummer heat spikes.

Chardonnay tends to shine in vintages like this, as will producers blocking malolactic fermentation in pursuit of firm acid structure. Salon is the champion of both.

The 2006 growing season got off to a slow start, after a cold winter and a dull, rainy spring. June brought sunshine and warm, even conditions, perfect for flowering. Waves of warmth continued through July, accelerating growth in the vines and causing some consternation among vignerons, fearful of a repeat of 2003’s heatwave. Perfectly on cue, August turned cool and rainy, prompting altogether different concerns. Fortunately, September saw a return to glorious sunshine, accompanied by cool nights and mornings, bringing the grapes to perfect ripeness.

Salon 2006, most recently tasted in January 2019, is immediately expressive, the magical Salon scent somehow more golden and Autumnal in tone. Didier has called this the ‘romantic’ vintage in its contrasts of light and dark both aromatically and structurally. The wine is certainly rich, but remains refined in its textural detail and structure, underpinned by firm Salon acids.

Corney & Barrow score 18.5 to 19 Disgorged January 2019 Dosage 5g/l

Some – though by no means all- of the better houses opted to carry out a ‘vendange verte’ in this bumper year, in pursuit of absolute quality and balance.

As always, the wines are the product of the year, and vines are on a continuum – we must always look to the past.

Europe’s heatwave vintage of 2003 left its mark in the vines and the soils. As the calendar rolled round to spring 2004, low ground water levels led to drier, warmer soils. This, together with fine weather in June, resulted in an impressive fruit set promising large crops, and indeed many houses went onto harvest enormous quantities. At this point, Salon took the rare decision to carry out a green harvest, with the aim of attaining the concentration and acid balance worthy of a Salon vintage. A dismal August caused a hiatus in the ripening process, ultimately fortuitous as the season was then extended naturally. Glorious late summer sunshine and cool night-time temperatures proved magical, bringing Salon’s small harvest to astonishing ripeness, balanced by pristine acids.

Salon 2004 has always shown a certain serenity. Graceful and inviting with ripe comice and hints of brioche, the wine retains the taut, saline edge of all Salon vintages, balancing curve and tension. 15 years on from the vintage (at time of writing in September 2019), this last disgorgement is vinous and mineral, showing the signature Salon freshness and salinity but already expansive on the palate. A beautiful wine, produced in small quantities.

Corney & Barrow score 19 Disgorged January 2019 Dosage 5g/l

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DRINKING DATES We are often asked our opinion on specific drinking dates for Salon and pleased to provide recommendations as follows:

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VINTAGE

DRINK DATE

1982

Drinking now to 2030

1983

Drinking now to 2020 At absolute peak now (Magnums will drink to 2030+)

1985

Drinking now to 2030 (magnum to 2040)

1988

Drinking now to 2030 (magnum to 2040)

1990

Drinking now to 2040 (magnum to 2040)

1995

Drinking now to 2050 (magnum to 2060)

1996

Drinking now to 2050+ (magnum to 2060+)

1997

Drinking now to 2040 (magnum to 2050)

1999

Drinking now to 2050+ (magnum to 2060+)

2002

Drinking now to 2060+ (magnum to 2070+)

2004

Drinking now to 2050+ (magnum to 2060+)

2006

Drinking now to 2050+ (magnum to 2060+)

2007

Drinking now to 2050+ (magnum to 2060+)

2008

Drinking now to 2080+

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AYR 8 Academy Street, Ayr Ayrshire, Scotland KA7 1HT T +44 (0)1292 267 000 ayr@corneyandbarrow.com

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