1966 Salon le Mesnil
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Tasting notes
Drunk from magnum, Salon's 1966 Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil certainly lived up to its reputation as one of this house's greatest hits, offering up a deep and complex bouquet of toasted hazelnuts, confit citrus, oyster shell, dried white flowers and smoke, followed by a full-bodied, deep and seamlessly layered palate of striking intensity and persistence, concluding with a mouthwateringly bone-dry finish. Retaining a pretty pinpoint mousse, it surpassed even my most optimistic expectations.
Critic scores
Average Score
Julia Harding MW, jancisrobinson.com
William Kelley, Wine Advocate
More reviews and scores
Disgorged 3 weeks ago with zero dosage – none needed after all this time on the lees, according to Didier Depond. Burnished gold. Strong woody aroma, even a note of mushroom, and the oxidative character – chamomile aromas like a skin-contact white – at first obscured the slight note of cork taint. The second bottle was similar in that oxidative character but definitely cleaner and zestier, with herbs and ginger and then deeply yeasty on the palate. Almost no fizz but the acidity keeps it alive and kicking. Remarkable longevity and intensely pure citrus effect even though the flavours are not primarily citrus any more. The second bottle also had a little more fizz and has a tighter shape on the palate but also a sort of lapsang smokiness. Really more of a relic but a venerable one at the age of 50. (JH)
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.