The House of Salon

By John U. Salvi

Salon is a microscopic House of Champagne in the context and panoply of the great and the mighty. It is a tiny House that has long enjoyed the reputation of being the very fi nest, the nec plus ultra that Champagne can produce. Situated in Mesnil-sur-Oger, in the heart of the famous Côte des Blancs, it only produces Champagne in years that it considers exceptional, only makes Champagne with Chardonnay and only from grapes grown in Mesnil.
This is eccentric, exotic and magnifi cent! Salon, with the minute production of 60,000 bottles, is a jewel in the crown of the Côtes des Blancs and a shining star in the constellation of Champagne.

 HISTORY
                              Salon is a young House; one could safely say a very young House, especially when compared to the 600 year history of the Gosset family! That makes it even more remarkable that it became so famous so quickly, but also means that this profile will be rather shorter than some. Short therefore, but infinitely sweet! The House was established, in 1920, by Eugene Aimé Salon (1867-1943), but before establishing the company he had already been making the finest Champagne possible.

The Champagne authority, Philippe Boucheron, says that the first known vintage was 1911. Those were the days when Champagne was usually some 75% Pinot Noir and Salon was quite revolutionary in concentrating upon Chardonnay. Indeed, without fanfare and without it even being mentioned, he probably made the first ever Blanc de Blancs! Quite an achievement!

Eugène-Aimé was the son of a Champenois plough-wright and was born at Pocancy, a small agricultural village on the plains of Champagne, to the east of Mesnil. He spent much of his boyhood helping a chef des caves at a small firm, producing a single vineyard Champagne, by the name of Clos Tarin (we shall come back to this later).

Although this boyhood experience kindled in Aimé an enthusiasm for wine making, he did not enter the trade for a number of years. He trained as a teacher, but rejected this profession in favour of commerce and joined a Parisian firm of furriers called Chapel. After achieving success in this business, and after involving himself in politics, he purchased five hectares of vines at Mesnil-sur-Oger where, in his spare time, he set about realising his youthful ambition: to create a perfectly balanced Champagne from a single growth and from just one grape variety, the Chardonnay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whenever Eugène-Aimé entertained his associates, he naturally offered them his own unlabelled Champagne, and was soon besieged with requests for supplies, which at first he declined, since he was still principally a furrier.

 

As the requests mounted, however, he released a few bottles. Business rapidly accumulated and he found himself running a Champagne firm. He founded the company, in 1920.He now enlarged his vineyard and started buying grapes from other growers in Le Mesnil. Marcel Guillaume, his nephew became his chef des caves.

 

He used only the best fruit and only the “Vin de Cuvéé”; all else was sold off. Furthermore, he only produced vintage Champagne and wines of undeclared years were also disposed of.

 

Salon, therefore, as mentioned above, appears to have been the first House to exploit commercially a Blanc de Blancs Champagne.Salon was the house Champagne of the famous Maxim’s, in Paris, during the 1920s, and, throughout that decade and the 1930s, it achieved its pinnacle of fame. Eugène- Aimé died in 1943.

 

On his death the company was inherited by his great-nephew. He had died without direct heirs and with only a nephew, Marcel Guillaume, and a niece, Annie Guillaume (brother and sister). The great-nephew was Annie’s son.

Things continued on an even keel, under the same chef des caves, namely Marcel Guillaume the nephew, and Salon continued to make the very finest Champagne.

 

Salon has only ever had three chef des caves. Marcel above, for a very long time, indeed until 1988, and then Alain Terrier. In 2005, the third one, Michel Fauconnet, took over.

In 1963, Besserat de Bellefon acquired the company, but again, intelligently, left it to make its own fine Champagne.
A charming story is told about the President of this company, Paul Bergeot. He decided to relaunch the Salon wine as “Cuvéé “S”, in 1976.

 

This, of course, is its name today. He was so impatient to get this into the new, fatter-shaped bottle that he had what was left of the 1971 and 1973 vintages decanted and rebottled, with the addition of a small amount of liqueur de tirage. This, of course, created a third fermentation and gave, strictly speaking, an illegal wine, because the total sum of the two added liqueurs de tirage was above the legal limit.

 

Therefore, for these two vintages, there are two “versions” of Salon, which must be fascinating to compare.The Dubonnet-Cinzano group bought Salon from Besserat de Bellefon, but was itself absorbed into the group Pernod-Ricard, in 1978.

Thus Salon became part of Pernod-Ricard, but still things happily continued their course and the group did virtually nothing with their jewel. Indeed, in the early 1980s, Salon was hardly commercial.

 

Jean-Marie Laborde, who was the financial comptroller of Pernod-Ricard, later said “we had this gem, but we did nothing with it. It was our sleeping beauty!”In 1985, Pernod-Ricard disengaged itself from Champagne and Salon was acquired by its present owner, Bernard de Nonancourt of the Laurent Perrier group. His family is the owner today.

The history of Salon would not be complete without talking a little bit about the remarkable Bernard de Nonancourt. His mother was a Lanson. Today, aged 87, he still owns and runs the Group Laurent Perrier, which is the largest family-owned group in Champagne, together with his two daughters Alexandra and Stéphanie.

The family hold 70% of the shares and the other 30% are chiefly in the hands of company employees and the growers who supply the group. It is, today, the fourth largest of all the Champagne groups, family and otherwise, and also owns De Castellane and Lemoine.

 

 

Bernard is totally fervent about Salon, having started his career with its sister company, Delamotte. He is perhaps best known, by people outside the wine world, for having been one of the officers who discovered the infamous German Cellar, belonging to Gôering, at the end of the 1939-45 war, all pilfered of course!

The first thing that met his eyes as he entered the cellar was an entire wall of cases of Salon 1928 and Lafite 1928.Bernard had two brothers, Charles and Maurice. Maurice was destined to go to Laurent Perrier, but was tragically killed during the war. Charles was supposed to go to Lanson, but instead took over Delamotte. Finally, Bernard, who was supposed to go to Delamotte, went to run Laurent Perrier.

 

DELAMOTTE
A word about this House, which we repeatedly describe as Salon’s sister House. It is the fifth oldest of all the Champagne Houses having been founded in 1760, by François Delamotte. One of its more famous personalities, Chevalier Delamotte Barrachin, was a Knight of Malta, no less. The company was finally bought by Lanson and then, between the two world wars, was acquired by Marie-Louise de Nonancourt (see all about this family above).

 

This explains why Charles de Nonancourt was sent to run it. In 1988, Delamotte united its destiny with Salon under the mother house of Laurent-Perrier, presided over by Bernard de Nonancourt and this is why it became the sister company of Salon and part of the Laurent-Perrier group. It is run, as is Salon, by Didier Depond and the oenologist is Alain Terrier.

 

WHO’S WHO
We have just explained the ownership and the shareholding of the company and seen that Salon, and its sister company Delamotte, today form part of the family-owned Laurent-Perrier group.The President of the Directory of the company is Didier Depond. He was born at Tours, in 1964, to a family of grape growers, in the Loire, for several generations.

 

Having completed his commercial studies, he joined Laurent-Perrier, in 1986, aged 21 years. So successful was he that he was put at the head of Laurent-Perrier Diffusion, which distributed Taylor’s Port and Glen Moray whiskies as well as Bordeaux and Burgundy.In 1994, Bernard de Nonancourt put him in charge of marketing for all the group’s Champagnes, wines and spirits.

Finally, in November 1997, at age 33, he was nominated President of Salon. Happy as a lark, this is the perfect position for him and he is the perfect man for Bernard de Nonancourt.

Unmarried, Salon is both his life and his wife!Alain Terrier is the group oenologist, which includes being the oenologist of Salon.

 

 

 

VINEYARDS
Once again, Salon is both singular and original. It owns just one hectare of vines in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. This is called « Le Jardin de Salon » and is a Grand Cru, 100%.

The five hectares that Eugène-Aimé once owned (see above) are still the exclusivity of Salon since, of the eighteen hectares belonging to members of the Union des Producteurs de la Côte des Blancs (see below), six actually belong to Salon and the others are purchased.

All are used for Salon Champagne. Chardonnay - of course! Only the Cuvée is used - naturally! It represents around 10% of their requirements. Today all their vines are 40 years old or older and grow half way up the slopes where their flavour is at its most intense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since their inception, they buy their grapes from twenty growers, all in Mesnil, all Chardonnay. Twenty growers, twenty parcels and almost one hundred years of dealing with the same growers - fantastic! They have even formed a private group entitled “Union des Producteurs de la Côte des Blancs”.

 

One of the originalities is that Salon buys 100% of these growers’ grapes REGARDLESS of the quality of the vintage. The grapes not required or desired by Salon are passed on to Delamotte and Salon washes its hands of them (in Salon perhaps!!). When I say WHATEVER the year, I mean exactly that.

Indeed, of the 94 vintages since the creation of the House, only 37 vintage wines have been made. Remember that if Salon does not deem it a vintage year then they do not make one single drop of wine!Anecdotally, Krug first made their famous Clos de Mesnil,in 1979.

Previously, the parcel of vines belonged to Clos Tarin. At that time, 50% of the grapes were used by Clos Tarin and 50% came to Salon.Pruning is on the classical “champenoise” system. Salon exercises a logistical control over the work in the vineyards of their twenty suppliers, as well as looking after their own vines.

 

 

CHAMPAGNE according to Salon
All grapes from their vineyard, and from those of all their suppliers, are pressed in a traditional press, at Mesnil-sur-Oger, which is used ONLY for Salon grapes. Then, before even being cold settled, the juice is sent directly to Laurent-Perrier, their owners. Laurent-Perrier, from here on, looks after the entire process of Champagne making up until, and including, the bottling.

They have the finest equipment and the best oenologist - Alain Terrier.

 

Salon Champagne never sees wood. Purity of fruit is the name of the game. Fermentation is done in stainless steel tanks. The wine does NOT undergo malo-lactic fermentation.

Laurent-Perrier treat the Salon must, and the ensuing Champagne, as great wine from first to last and give it the finest possible attention.

Immediately after bottling the wine is brought back to the Salon caves and goes straight down to the deepest cellars, the “basse caves” for ageing.

 

At the risk of annoying my readers, I repeat again that all this wine is 100% Chardonnay, 100% from Mesnil-sur-Oger and only exists in vintage years. Salon has never made a drop of non-vintage wine. I have mentioned many times that ageing is one of the vital keys to making great Champagne.Here Salon excels.

The wines lay here “sur lattes” for a minimum of TEN years. Salon holds an incredible thirteen years stock. Didier perpetually thanks Laurent-Perrier and Bernard de Nonancourt for allowing this, and told me that Bernard even offered him an extra year during a local fête, at Mesnil, in July 2006. Didier, therefore, has a clear vision of Salon’s future over the next fifteen years.

After the ageing comes the pupitrage (see Gosset) in the upper levels of the cellars. Remarkably, every bottle is still HAND RIDDLED. No gyro palettes are used. All the staff here do all jobs and have done for a long time, but a truly professional riddler can riddle up to 50,000 bottles per day. Their wrists are like iron and their handshakes positively bone-crushing.

The riddling here is done in three weeks and it is often said that “the wines of Mesnil are the most difficult to riddle and the sediment takes the longest time to descend onto the cork”.

However, once the sediment is on the cork of the upsidedown bottles, they are ready for “dégorgement” (see Gosset), for the addition of the “liqueur” and for the final corking. They then go back to the cellars for a minimum of six months to marry and settle. Here, at Salon, the dosage is VERY LOW. 

 

Didier says, “the slightest touch of make-up should only be given to the wine if it positively enhances it. The balance of sugars and acids is VITAL”. The average strength of the base wine is around 10° of alcohol.The decision whether or not to make a vintage wine is decided some 70% by the quality of the grapes and the juice at vintage time and some 30% by the tasting of the Vin Clair in January-February.

 

In some years no decision is taken before tasting the Vin Clair. Exceptional minerality and acidity levels are hallmarks of Salon Champagne.No wine was made from 1990-1995! “Salon must be the guardian of the temple a great deal of the time”.

 

PRODUCTION
As stated many times, Salon only produces vintage Champagne.The recent vintages have been: - 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2002, 2004.

 

MARKETING
Salon is just starting to market the 1996 vintage and is still selling vintages back to 1982 (1988, 1985, 1982).The wine is ONLY available on quota and Salon has some one hundred potential clients on its waiting list. The average price ex cellars today is 100 Euros/bottle.

Its sister company, Delamotte, who take its unwanted grapes, enjoys a knock-on reputation and sales of some 600,000 bottles per year.

 

EXPORT
No less than 95% of Salon’s production is exported. This is unique. Very roughly, as the above figures show, they produce one vintage in three and the production is on average some 60,000 bottles annually.

 

RANGE OF WINES
Salon only produces ONE WINE and ONLY VINTAGE - VINTAGE SALON, BRUT “S”.

 

TASTING NOTES
1996 SALON, BRUT “S”
BUBBLES : Minute, pinprick, eternal bubbles. Fabulous.
COLOUR : Fresh, young, vital, pale straw. Most attractive.
NOSE : The epitome of Chardonnay! This nose is unique, powerful and even impertinent. Fine and straight and clean and pure. Strong and steely minerality. Elegance.
PALATE : This wine gives no concession. It is a pure, thoroughbred, aristocratic, refined and with steely purity. The finesse and delicacy, allied to the power and strength, give the perfect example of the iron fist in the velvet glove. It is not an easy wine and does not want to be. It insists upon being thought about and appreciated. Wonderful lemon tinged acidity for splendid freshness. Rigorous and perfect structure. Grand vin.

1983 SALON, BRUT “S”
Disgorged in the cellars, by hand, just before tasting.
BUBBLES : Age has dimmed or lessened these absolutely tiny, vigorous and lasting bubles.
COLOUR : Marvellous young. Pale and brilliant and fresh, pale gold, but naturally with the gently yellowing hue.
NOSE : This is heady stuff. I had to aerate it had just been disgorged five minutes before tasting. After a few miutes it breathed jasmine at the end of it flowering period, preserved fruit, apricots and mild spices. It grew steadily and filled the nasal passages. Above all splendid freshness.
PALATE : Still fabulously bright and crisp. Fresh and fruity with that wonderful tang of bitterness right at the finish. Still vibrant, with youthfull freshness. Very long, warm, complex and satisfying. A big wine in spite of the airiness. Heavenly citrus-touched acidity. Voluptuous !! There is not hurry at all to drink this and , although it 23 years old now, it will, probably make 50 without flinching. A great experience and a great wine.

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