2004 Salon weaves together immense complexity with stunning purity and makes instant impact on the nose with fresh-baked pastry and brioche, chalky minerals, fresh white mushroom, cucumber, lemon curd and striking lemon and lime citrus fruits. The palate has an almost smoky mineral thread, toasty autolytic flavors build and expand through the mid-palate, opening to grapefruit and ripe white peach flavours, lemon sorbet and very lightly grilled hazelnuts to close. This is an impressively layered Blanc de Blancs in which bright acidity supports the flavorsome, concentrated and fleshy texture in seamless balance. A great Salon, very composed and complex in every respect, a classically styled vintage in which this legendary Champagne has excelled. It will be a fascinatingly complex Champagne with further age. Drink now and for 10+ years.

– jamessuckling.com, May 2016

Quality 964 | Brand 981 | Economics 964 |

buzz brand
Quality: Predicted life of 13 years, one of the longest drinking windows in its peer group for the 2004 vintage, which averages 6 years Brand: Strong restaurant presence, featuring on 38 of the world's top wine lists, including L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon Economics: Above its peer group average price of £67 for the 2004 vintage Production: Higher production than its peer group average of 22,775 bottles

- www.wine-lister.com, June 2017

The 2004 Salon has been superb each time I have tasted it over the last year or so. Bright, tense and crystalline, with all of the energy that is typical of both Salon and the vintage in the Côte des Blancs, the 2004 bristles with superb precision and cool, pulsating minerality. The 2004 spent a dozen years on its lees. Over the last six months or so, it has gradually begun to open up, but it is very much a wine for the cellar. Two thousand four is remembered as a vintage with record high yields. Salon (and Delamotte) did a terrific job in keeping the vines well balanced. Production was just 46,000 bottles, as opposed to the 60,000 or so that is more typical. Chef de Caves Michel Fauconnet opted for a low dosage of just 4 grams per liter. This is a tremendous showing.

– vinous.com, June 2016

This is the first time that I encountered the 2004 Salon, this in magnum format. What a gem! It has a typically steely and almost terse nose before it opens with thrilling scents of dew dappled green apples and citrus lemon mixed with crushed limestone. The palate is crystalline, brilliantly defined and poised with an underlying bitterness that maintains tension. There's real nerve to this Salon that fans out on the finish, deciding to keep everything very linear and strict, which just makes you love it more. This is a long-term proposition. Tasted at dinner at Moon Bay in Hong Kong.

The 2004 Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Brut is another rather structured, tensile wine from a generally rather open vintage. Wafting from the glass are scents of citrus rind, crisp green apple, preserved citrus, fresh bread and smoke. Medium to full-bodied, tangy and chiseled, with fine depth at the core and a long, chalky finish, it's complemented by a pillowy pinpoint mousse. Unlike many wines from 2004, this Salon (tasted from a bottle disgorged in January 2019) still has potential to improve with further bottle age.

The Salon 2004 Blanc de Blancs Brut Le Mesnil follows the famous 2002, and although it comes from a very complicated vintage, it is of excellent quality. It comes from 20 parcels on ten hectares in the Grand Cru. Disgorged in April 2015, the wine shows a great purity and chalky intensity, with white mushrooms and lemon flavors. There is a great finesse and elegance on the palate, which shows a great purity, tension and minerality. This is a pretty young and persistent Blanc de Blancs with a youthful grip and tension. Great purity and freshness.

This vintage of Salon is possibly in an awkward phase, at least judging by the bottle tasted. It shows notes of lime cheesecake, peach and nutty lees-ageing richness. It's plush but cut with tangy cooked citrus and, for now, is missing the length and harmony that this classic blanc de blancs from Le Mesnil often shows. It is probably worth holding bottles to see what happens over the next decade. Chardonnay from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger.

Disgorged in 2017. Dosage 7 g/l. Tasted blind. Mid straw. Fresh and appetising nose. At peak, with lacy, filigree texture and really bright fruit. Hint of ginger. Clean, dry finish. (JR)