2013 Salon le Mesnil
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Tasting notes
A very special vintage for this wine, the 2013 Champagne Salon pours a pale yellow/green-tinged color and has a very pretty nose revealing round, pure notes of citrus blossom, a hint of almond pastry, fresh lemon meringue, and pure pear. But while the nose is expressive, the palate is still coiled and intense, with a pure, driving, chalky texture, power, and length, as well as a great deal of electricity that carries through the palate, with a pinpoint, focused mousse. This is going to be a great wine for collectors and for aging over the coming decades. This wine is singing. Comparing it with the Salon 82 and Salon 83 will be one of the great arguments over the years. 5 grams per liter dosage.
Critic scores
Average Score
Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
In the context of the vintage, the expressive and structurally open personality of Salon’s 2013 Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil took me by surprise. Expecting a taut, incisive version, considering the cool, late-ripening growing season, it shares more similarities with the 2012 rendition than differences. Disgorged in early 2023 with a dosage of 5.5 grams per liter, it soars from the glass with scents of iodine, orange zest and warm bread mingling with hints of tropical fruit. Far from linear, it is a flamboyant and elegantly glossy rendition that’s undeniably fleshier than the racy-fresh and chiseled 2007 at a similar stage of development. Laden with ripe yet vibrant acidity, complemented by a pinpoint mousse and concluding with a precise, vividly chalky finish, it is dangerously approachable even now. However, given its rarity and eye-watering market price, it would be rather hedonistic to pop the corks before it celebrates its 20th birthday. Since 1921, this marks only the 44th edition of Salon.
Impressive yet very subtle aromas of flint, chalk, stone and honeysuckle, as well as gun powder. Medium body with a solid core of fruit, yet very refined and silky, with a delicate and refined finish. Pure and terroir-driven. Disgorged in 2023. Dosage 5g/L. Really delicious to drink now, or hold.
The 2013 Salon is a huge wine. Dense and explosive, the 2013 possesses almost shocking textural richness for a young Salon. If offers a perfect example of the vintage in the Côtes des Blancs, a year in which ripeness and acids were both elevated. Lemon confit, marzipan, white flowers, mint and white pepper explode onto the palate. Bright saline notes pull it all back together on the finish. Dosage is 4.5 grams per liter.
About the producer
Champagne Salon makes some of the region’s rarest and most collectable Champagnes. The house is dedicated to one wine – a vintage Blanc de Blancs, 100% Chardonnay entirely from the Grand Cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, produced only in the finest years.