2006 Champagne Salon Le Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut [WE100][JS97][V97][WA96+][D95]

Producer: Champagne Salon 
Region: Champagne, France 
Varietal: Chardonnay 
Year: 2006  

Wine Enthusiast, 100 Points 

"This new release from a great vintage for Chardonnay in Champagne is a perfect blanc de blancs, showing a wealth of intensity from the crisp, chalky, mineral tones to the perfumed apple notes. The aromas hint at developing toastiness that adds depth and complexity. The wine is still young and it will age for years. Drink from 2020. *Cellar Selection*" 

James Suckling, 97 Points 

"No doubting the pedigree or provenance, this opens with wet chalk and oyster shell notes, and there are aromas of dried yellow flowers and white mushrooms, white chocolate and lemon citrus as well as a refined array of fresh pastry. The palate has power with ripe lemon-drenched peach fruits. This is generous and gives plenty for Salon at this young stage with really succulent fruit. Builds white almond biscuit and toasted spices through the finish." 

Vinous, 97 Points 

"The 2006 Salon is a very rich wine, almost uncharacteristically so. Deep and exotic the 2006 exudes richness in all of its dimensions, with myriad inflections of sumptuous fruit that fill out its ample, large-scaled frame. Today, the 2006 is surprisingly accessible for a young Salon, but it needs time to shed some baby fat. At times, the 2006 recalls the 2002, but it appears to have more phenolic intensity and overall structure. Even with all of its flamboyance and pure volume, the 2006 retains quite a bit of energy and freshness. I imagine it will be a fascinating, utterly compelling Champagne to follow over the next several decades." 

Wine Advocate, 96+ Points 

"The 2006 Salon Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Brut has a shining silver-golden color, the bubbles are tiny and enormously fine—they probably wouldn't stop rising from the bottom of the glass if you left the wine in it instead of drinking it. On the nose, there is a fascinating, pure and fresh bouquet with acacia, chalk, incense and concentrated lemon flavors. The 2006 is mouthfilling, round and elegant on the palate, as well as dense and tight but also fresh and cleansing, provided with great finesse, mineral complexity, length and structure. The finish is clear and aromatic, round and well balanced, slightly creamy, very intense, greatly finessed and truly elegant, with stimulating salinity in the aftertaste." 

Decanter, 95 Points 

"I tasted the 40th vintage of Salon (the first was released in 1905) at the St James Hotel in Bordeaux back in September, and in a year of amazing Champagnes it remains one of the very best. 2006 was a fairly warm year in the region, but this is singing with beautifully fresh acidity, offsetting the rich creamy lemons and white peaches of the Chardonnay. It has a weighty mouthfeel but a grippy, tongue-dancing minerality. This is going to go the distance without a doubt, deepening and developing biscuit notes as it does so. Enjoy the ride. A low dosage of 4g/l." 

Jancis Robinson, 

"Dosage 4 g/l. Described by president of Salon Didier Depond as 'the romantic vintage – very talkative'. Lovely forthright fruit – mandarin, nectarine. Butter and salt too, with a very open, fleshy palate, which is lighter than the nose indicates. Excellent savoury snap on the finish, with yeastiness that waits right until the finish. An aristocrat in the making." 

Alcohol: 12% 

*Discounts do not apply to items like this one in the Fine & Rare category. Price and availability in store may vary.