Champagne Salon

Salon is one of the "icons" of the Champagne region. It has always been recognized as the original "Blanc de Blancs" Champagne. It is made from one grape variety, Chardonnay and only produced in high quality vintages,  And even then, the quantity produced is so small that Salon might as well be considered a craft operation in the small village right within the Champagne region, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Its Champagne has been famous for about a century, not because it does a lot, but because it does a little: one grape, one wine, one village.

History
Eugène-Aimé Salon (born in 1867) started the Champagne domaine. He was highly attracted by Champagne and the area of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, especially with the chalky soils . In 1905, he made his first vintage, but it wasn’t for sale, it was just for himself, his friends, and the famous Maxim’s restaurant in Paris. It wasn’t until the 1920s that Salon’s Champagne became available to the public, and even then, it was always in short supply.

Following the death of Eugène-Aimé in 1943, his nephew kept the estate running. Salon stayed a family business until 1988, when the Laurent-Perrier group took over. Today, Lounge is run by Michel Fauconnet and Didier Depond, who also run the neighboring estate of Delamotte. But managing two estates isn't the only semblance of a common theme between the two. Both estates share the same management philosophy: make Champagne only in the greatest years, and only from grapes of the highest quality.

The Vineyards

Salon’s grapes come from a single hectare plot called “Le Jardin de Salon” and nineteen other small plots, all in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The vineyards are all Grand Cru, meaning they’re the top-rated sites in Champagne. The focus is on quality, not quantity; Salon only produces about 60,000 bottles in a vintage year, which is tiny by Champagne standards.

The Terroir

The secret that lies behind Salon is its terroir. Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is located in the Côte des Blancs, which is well-known for its chalky soils. This chalk isn't just for show; it is millions of years old and is the primary reason behind the grapes' signature minerality and freshness. The soil drains well, but this also means that the roots have to go deep picking up all sorts of minerals. That’s why Salon’s wines are known for their crispness and that salty, mineral edge that fans love.

The Grapes Used

Chardonnay is what Salon is all about. There is no Pinot Meunier or Pinot Noir. Every bottle is a Blanc de Blancs, made entirely from Chardonnay from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. This focus on one grape and one place is what gives Salon its unique personality. The house doesn’t blend vintages or vineyards; it’s all about capturing the best of one year from one spot.

Way of Winemaking

Salon’s approach in the cellar is as strict as in the vineyard. Only the best years are chosen. In the 20th century, only 38 vintages were made, a rare feat in Champagne.

The winemaking is straightforward. The juice is fermented in stainless steel tanks, not oak barrels. This keeps the wine fresh and precise, without any woody flavors. Malolactic fermentation is blocked, so the wine keeps its natural acidity and tension. After fermentation, the wine spends about ten years aging on its lees (the spent yeast cells), which adds complexity and texture. The dosage—the bit of sugar added before corking—is kept low, usually between 5 and 7 grams per liter, so the wine stays dry and pure.

When Salon finally releases a vintage, it’s ready to drink but can age for decades. The house still keeps bottles from almost every vintage in its cellars, a living museum of Champagne history.

4 Nice To Know Facts

- Only One Wine: Salon makes only one wine, the Salon Cuvée ‘S’ Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs. No rosé, no non-vintage, no second label. If the year isn’t good enough, they simply don’t make any Champagne at all.

- Long Wait: Each vintage of Salon is held for nearly a decade before it is allowed to come to market. This is almost unheard of in the Champagne industry, where most houses sell their wines much sooner.

- Notable Cellar Tale: A youthful French soldier called Bernard de Nonancourt stumbled on an extraordinary find in 1945: thousands of bottles of a Champagne dated 1928. They had been secreted in a cellar at Hitler's Bavarian retreat. De Nonancourt, who went on to head the Champagne house Laurent-Perrier, bought the house Salon, which had been founded in 1920. So the cellar find comes full circle. In Salon's 2008 vintage, wine specialist Eric Asimov speaks of the wine's "debit in 1928." In other words, he's saying these bottles were not just laid down for time to do its thing; there was something about them that made them good candidates for aging.

In 2008, only salon bottles in magnum size were released.

The Salon Champagne vintages released so far are: 1905, 1909, 1911, 1914, 1921, 1925, 1928, 1934, 1937, 1942, 1943, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1961, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 (magnum), 2012, 2013, and 2015.