First taste: Champagne Salon 2013

It’s back to business as usual at the sought-after producer of blanc de blancs from the grand cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger after two unusual releases: the ripe and open 2012 which was released after a change of heart by the house, and the 2008 which was only released in magnums.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for Champagne Salon 2013 and Delamotte 2014

Le Mesnil-sur-Oger’s terse, sometimes inscrutable Chardonnays, grown on some of the region’s purest chalk soils, are renowned for their tension and longevity, forming part of the blends in many of the region’s prestige cuvées. Salon, though, is an opportunity to taste Le Mesnil in isolation.

It might be expected that this terroir, together with a high-acid vintage such as 2013, could spell a wine of searing unapproachability in its youth (a reputation Salon already holds), but president Didier Depond says: ‘It’s surprisingly accessible and open now – this is very unusual for Salon. It reminds me of the 1983 vintage…but there have not been any other vintages like this since. It is very special.’

2013’s cool spring and late budburst pushed the ripening season back in Champagne, although its reputation as a cool year is a little simplistic. August in particular saw prolonged warmth, and September’s ‘cool nights’ retained freshness in the wines, according to Depond. It was, he admits, a harvest ‘without any issues at all.’

See also: Champagne 2013: 10 years on

The current openness of the new 2013 release, though, is just an illusion according to Depond, and those that make the considerable outlay for a bottle should still exercise patience. ‘I think it will shut down in a few months…at Salon we talk about 15 years to get out of the teenage years,’ he says.

Salon has become one of Champagne’s most prominent targets for investment over the last decade, with the price of the 2012 now sitting between £1,050-£1,200 per bottle. The ageing ability of the very best vintages is legendary. Depond recently put on a tasting for collectors in which the 1943 was reported to be the star.

Such long bottle ageing is unpredictable in Champagne, highly dependent not only on the vintage but on bottling, storage and corks – a technical challenge for a wine trying its hardest to escape its vessel. What is clear, though, is that 2013 has everything it needs to take on the marathon.

Tasted alongside was sister house Delamotte’s superb 2014 Blanc de Blancs, long a favourite of those seeking a classically framed, pristine taste of Côte des Blancs grand cru Chardonnay without the price tag – or such extreme demands for patience.

Salon 2013 is available in the UK for £1,400 and Delamotte 2014 for £100.

Tom Hewson’s tasting notes and scores for Salon 2013 and Delamotte 2014

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