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.

The 2006 Brut Blanc De Blancs Le Mesnil is still closed and backward, but wow, it has incredible potential. Showing the more ripe, concentrated style of the vintage in its orchard/citrus fruits and chalky minerality, it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, brilliant purity, elegant, bright acidity, and a big finish. It’s a big, layered, structured Salon that needs to be forgotten for 4-5 years, but it’s going to drink beautifully for two decades.

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; it is 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. Being restrained and generous at the same time, the 2006 Salon is a great promise rather than the greatest drinking pleasure today. Although I tasted the Salon several times over 36 hours, there is a chalky layer on everything, a taste of a wet sponge, soaked with a lot of chalk for the moment but also ultra-dark chocolate flavors (with at least 80% cacao) and candied lemon and orange zests. The truth or the soul of the 2006 Salon, I guess, is rather indicated in the almost emptied glass, from which ripe, yellow-fleshed fruit aromas (plums!), brioche, marzipan and floral flavors come out, reflecting a perfect ripeness of fruit as well as the great terroir of Le Mesnil. So, please, don't drink the 2006 straight after opening the bottle. Take a good Champagne glass and give the wine a while to breathe and open up. The aging capacity of the 2006 should be tremendous here.

The 2006 Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Brut is quite tangy and reserved by the standards of this sunny, demonstrative vintage. Offering up aromas of smoke, toasted bread, orange oil, mocha and confit lemon, it's medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with racy acids and a concentrated, surprisingly structured mid-palate. Concluding with a long and gently empyreumatic finish, this is a fine success. This bottle was disgorged in January 2019.

On the initial attack, this shows very exotic aromas of tropical fruit and pungent floral aromas with an edge that suggests white chocolate. On the palate, the wine is supple, and the texture is velvety and fine, with a finesse that belies the extra-brut dosage. Soft and lacking definition at this point in its evolution, this is shaping up to be an early-maturing vintage of Salon. Disgorged: early 2016. Dosage: 5g/L.

Disgorged (Edition) 2019. Didier Depond: ‘the romantic vintage’. Picked from 14 September. Pungent and racy. Very transparent and almost soft, perhaps because the wine was opened two hours earlier then re-stoppered. Fine and round. Very friendly. Floral and fine. Very long. Like the delicate brush of a feather against the cheek. (JR)