Vineyards and Winemaking
Salon, like all blanc de blancs Champagnes, is made from 100% Chardonnay. Its grapes are harvested from various growers in the commune Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in the Côte des Blancs subregion of Champagne and from a proprietary vineyard known as Jardin de Salon. While the village-wide terms used for classification in the Champagne region don't carry the same meaning as in Burgundy, Chablis or Alsace, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is a Grand cru-rated vineyard area, which is the highest of three levels. Of the vineyards that produce their Champagne, Salon's own Jardin de Salon comprises only 1 hectare (2.5 acres) of planted grapes. The majority of the grapes for Champagne Salon comes from the 20 contract growers with vineyards in the Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. These vines average around 25 years of age with some being as old as 40.
Champagne Salon is only released under the Salon name during exceptional years, at the rate of approximately four vintages per decade. Undeclared vintages are used for Delamotte or simply sold off. According to the Salon website, their wines are fermented in stainless steel and allowed to age in the bottle for around ten years before release. Salon vintages are typically first released after 10+ years. Like many Champagne producers, Salon will not release an entire vintage at the same time but will hold back a certain amount to spend more time aging on the lees. In 1988, a single bottle from this vintage fetched over five times its estimated amount at a Christie's auction. In each vintage no more than 60,000 bottles are produced.
One single Champagne is produced under the Salon label.
Read more about this topic: Champagne Salon