Perfect Pairings Awards.com is a new wine competition that places Chinese Cuisine at the very heart of its focus and attention. Three popular dishes have been identified in Beijing and Singapore, and four in Hong Kong. These were tasted with wines from around the world and assessed for their suitability.

Champagne Salon & Champagne Delamotte received Perfect Pairing Award in the Sparkling category.

http://www.perfectpairingsawards.com/index.php/results

A highly credential jury including Richard Juhlin has rated Champagnes in different categories. In the Blanc de Blancs category, Delamotte Blanc de Blancs came in the second place.

All results were published in the magazine "Världens Viner" number 6 of 2010.

La Grande Dégustation

(15,5 à 17 : Grand vin)

Beaucoup de race sur cette bouteille développant des notes de zestes et d'agrumes confits.

(17,5 à 19,5 - vin exceptionnel)

Les notes iodées et saliones de la finale signent ce vin fabuleux de précision aromatique. Quelle ampleur et quelle tension dans ce Salon ciselé, qui nécessite impérativement d'être attendu encore au moins trois ans.

"This great vintage of Salon is beginning to show its full stature, the aroma shimmering with bold spice, the powerfully brisk acidity giving a classic '96 profile. The flavors are subtle at first, feeling complete, with more refinement than detail. Then air brings out the layers impacted in its youthful fruit, a spectrum of flavour from tangerine zest to hazelnut, sophisticated enough to set the heart racing. Salon is built to evolve for decades; this '96 will live longer than most."

 "A deep, vinous style, with understated power and grace. The lemon verbena, toast and honey aromas and flavours are propelled by the well-integrated structure and fine bubbles.There's just a hint of greenness, marking its youthful impetuosity. Great length. Best from 2010 through 2030."

Champagne - Notre sélection de caractère

Fraîcheur et luminosité

Delamotte Blanc de Blancs 1999

Un nez raffiné et opulent, avec des notes grillées et des fragrances d'encens, une bouche complexe où l'on découvre aussi bien des fruits jaunes, des arômes iodés et une finale de tarte aux mirabelles. Salivant, digeste, ce champagne donne irrémédiablement envie de passer à table.

[...]

Champagne en avant la musique !

"Le champagne tout entier est musique. On pourrait d'ailleurs dresser une inventaire complet des vocabulaires communs à la musique et au vin de Champagne, tant ces deux plaisirs semblent d'une évidente complémentarité.[...] Afin de passer de la théorie à la pratique, et pour terminer l'année sur une note sensuelle, pétillante et musicale, nous vous proposons une sélection de grandes cuvées de champagne, que le compositeur Bruno Mantavoni à associées à une oeuvre musicale à écouter pendant la dégustation.

Texte Emmanuel Giraud - Photo Maurice Rougemont

THE CONNOISSEUR

 Label Conscious

Salon Le Mesnil : Among the rarest of all Champagnes. Vintners hyperchoosy about declaring vintages. Maintains amazing freshness.

"What changes as a top vintage Champagne matures ? One thing is the bouquet. "We divide the aromas in three stages," says Jean-Baptiste Cristini, of the venerable Champagne house Salon-Delamotte.

"The primary aromas of a young Champagne are fresh fruits and nuts. Bottle aging affects the yeast in the wine, bringing out the secondary aromas of bread baking and brioche. Finally, after many years, come the most passoniate and interesting aromas of all-the tertiaries."

Cristini pauses here, trying to parse the character of those elusive tertiaries: "They are mushroomy, truffley. Sometimes I'm eminded of white-truffle risotto with parmesam cheese."

Salon Le Mesnil 1996 Blanc de Blancs Brut - 97 points

"From the same 20 parcels in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger as the house has used since its founding in 1921, this is the latest release from Salon. It explodes in the mouth with mineral, steel and flint. The tiny mousse has flavours of yeast with a touch of toast. It is rich, but also austere and structured. like many Salon Champagnes, this will age for 20 years or more." By Roger Voss

NV Delamotte Brut - 92 points
The entry level Delamotte is as good a NV as you'll find around town. Quite a modern, well-made nose, ripe grapefruit and chalky Champagne terroir. Stylishly arranged on the palate, layers of fruit flavour, fine, long and utterly delicious!

NV Delamotte Blanc de Blancs √ 93 points
Made under the same management as the scintillating perfect Salon, this is a complex and balanced Blanc de Blancs, superbly structred and phrased. It's perfectly suited to pre-anything drinks and has the balance and structure to take through to dinner.
 
1996 Salon Cuvée S Blanc de Blancs √ 100 points
It really doesn't get much better than this, Salon is the world's most sought after Champagne. Super precise, restrained and powerful, Salon's purity and grace are what sets it apart from the pack, no one cuts this close to perfection! A demanding powerhouse of Champagne.

Coming in the October 31 issue of the Wine Spectator

90 Points - Delamotte Rosé

"A fragrant champagne, offering orange peel, potpourri and floral aromas and flavors. It's vinous and shows concentration midpalate, with a lingering, spicy aftertaste. Drink now through 2010."

* Delamotte, *producteur de vins de haute qualité dans des appelations de premier ordre

Située au Mesnil-sur-oger, en pleine Côte des Blancs, Delamotte est une très ancienne maison, fondée en 1760 et acquise par Laurent-Perrier en 1989. Soeur du mythique Champagne Salon, elle est dirigée par le même jeune directeur, Didier Depond. Tout comme Salon, Delamotte est un spécialiste du chardonnay. Ses cuvées sont délicates, à la bulle fine, d'un style frais et apéritif.

Delamotte Brut - 14/20

Delamotte Blanc de Blancs - 14,5/20

Delamotte Blanc de Blancs 1999 - 16,5/20

*** Champagne Salon, *** producteur de vins de qualité exceptionnelle et uniquement sur les plus grands terroirs

Champagne Salon 1996 - 19,5/20

Le 1996 possède la force de conviction des très grands vins : générosité et volume frais au nez, bouche mature dotée de cette saveur si typée chardonnay champenois d'alliance de raisin mûr et de craie fraîche, et surtout une finale infinie aux nuances salines, d'une énergie phénoménale.

Champagne Delamotte - 2 B&D - producteur de très bonne qualité : vin illustrant de façon régulière le caractère de l'origine et du millésime

Delamotte Rosé - 14/20

Delamotte Brut - 14,5/20

Delamotte Blanc de Blanc - 15,5/20

Beaucoup d'esprit, de vivacité et même de spiritualité : voilà un fin et très apéritif blanc de blancs

Delamotte Blanc de Blancs 1999 - 16/20

Parfaitement inscrit dans le style tendre et apéritif de Delamotte, ce 1999 ajoute à ces qualités intensité et profondeur

Champagne Salon - 4 B&D - producteur de très grande qualité, vins pouvant être considérés comme les gloires de la production française

Salon 1996 - 19,5 /20

A notre sens le plus grand Salon de l'histoire récente, et assurément l'un des plus grands champagnes contemporains : d'une longueur phénoménale, le vin conjugue avec un pur génie finesse et énergie, raffinement et vivacité, terminant sur d'infinies notes minérales et de zeste d'agrumes

Salon 1995 - 19/20

Grand champagne profond et savoureux, d'une précision de définition éblouissante, avec une personalité aussi intense mais plus en rondeur que le 1996

Salon 1990 - 18,5/20

Style minéral et ultraraffiné, allonge intense et svelte : affirmation ultra-racée du terroir du Mesnil

Champagne Delamotte - 3 raisins /4

[...] Nous avons commencé par un rosé affirmant une belle structure sur des notes de fraise des bois. Explosion de notes d'agrumes, de fruits exotiques et d'anis pour le 1999 gardant race et minéralité. Le Blanc de Blancs fait la part belle à la fraîcheur et la vivacité, teinté d'angélique, d'amande et de fleurs blanches. Le Brut a une approche plus tendre. Une maison de grande qualité au service de champagnes d'élégances. Bravo.

Champagne Salon - 3,5 raisins/4 - maison coup de coeur

Passion, folie, liberté : voilà peut-être ce qui a poussé Eugène Aimé Salon à créer "son" Blanc de Blancs. La maison nait en 1920 et ne produira que les années exceptionnelles. Un mythe était né. L'image d'Aimé salon, homme libre et créatif, continue de guider la maison.[...] Gardés en cave au moins huit ans, ces vins extraordinaires trouvent race et rondeur. Peut-être aurez-vous la chance de déguster un des 31 millésimes produits depuis 1921...

Sept 21 2007 

"The 1996 Salon was served out of a successfully sabered 750ml. The 1996 Salon was like the razor's edge; there was so much vim, vigor and acidity here it was like being in the eye of a storm. One could see the greatness of the 1996 vintage in the Salon, which was fresh as a baby's bottom. It was white meaty underneath that 1996 greatness; so balanced, so long, so stylish and deeply penetrating. Rob gave it '6 stars. Incredible. Pure Blanc de Blanc Le Mesnil. No dosage.' It was probably the greatest young Champagne that I have ever tasted."(97+pts JK)

People are just starting to figure out that the greatest Champagnes can age as well as the best of red wines.

Coming soon on magazine N° Wine#1

When wine lovers rhapsodize about "cult wine", they are typically talking about ultra high quality, small production California cabernet sauvignon blends like Screaming Eagle or Araujo Estate or a few other rare reds from around the world, such as Le Pin from Bordeaux or Pingus from Spain.

But who has ever heard of "cult Champagne" ? Prestige cuvées like Taittinger's Comte de Champagne, Veuve Clicquot's La Grande Dame, and Moet & Chandon's Dom Perignon, despite their exalted reputations, are hardly produced in the microscopic quantities that qualify for cult status; indeed, DP is rumored to have a production run exceeding 100,000 cases annualy. And there's Champagne Salon, which sees an annual trickle of just 6,000 six-bottle cases, released only three of four times each decade. Rap songs don't refer to it. Its packaging is far from bling-y, unlike, for example, Cristal's gloriously translucent bottle or Dom Perignon's sexy black curves.

In fac, the "S" marking Salon's label symbolizes, for me, the notion of singularity : there is but one version, made from a single grape (Chardonnay) and a single vineyard, the fabled Le Mesnil. There is no rosé bottling, no  non-vintage cuvée, no sweet version - as all of Salon's eggs are in one basket.

Our Critics Pick the best in the World of Wine

Great Performances :

Salon is selected among the 10 best champagne brands :

"A single cuvée from the grand cru village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Salon is made in a powerful style, its intense acidity set to hold the wine for years."

The Sydney Morning Herald

Good living - July 31 2007

by Huon Hooke

Delamotte NV Brut Champagne - 95/100

Subtle creamy, nutty aromas; fresh and clean. The palate is rich and fine, subtly complex and with some liqueur sweetness in harmony with the other components. Streamlined and lingering; a great non-vintage.

Food : Cheese puffs

Recommendations > Wines to woo your Valentine

From romantic reds to wonderful whites and lovely bubblies, here's 30 wines that are sure to impress your Valentine

Delamotte, Blanc de Blancs 1999 *****

From Grand Cru vines in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger and Avize, this Champagne is amazingly fresh at first, with fresh almonds and dried fruit on the palate. It's a perfect expression of the vivacity and élan of a top-class blanc de blancs from a very good vintage. Delicious as an apérifit or with a meal.
Corney & Barrow branches (020 7265 2400)

Visit Decanter website

Delamotte Blanc de Blancs 1999

"From grand cru vines in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger and Avize, amazingly fresh at first, with fresh almonds and dried fruit on the palate, this is a perfect expression of the vivacity and élan of a top-class blanc de blancs from a very good vintage. Delicious as an apéritif or with a meal."

Steve Spurrier

Score: 97
1996 Salon Blanc de Blanc Le Mesnil
Wouldn't it be lovely if we could drink Salon Le Mesnil every day? This is an incredibly beautiful, sophisticated, lavishly appointed bubbly with an exquisite blend of aged yeast notes smelling of lightly toasted brioche layered atop scents of vanilla, Meyer lemon, chalk and minerals all in the most seamless and creamy of fashions. Its mousse is smooth but energetic and comes with appropriately pinpoint-sized bubbles. Sporting all the finesse that Blanc de Blancs can manage yet rewardingly deep and rich in flavor, this wine is easily the most impressive bottling in this go-round of world-class bubblies. $300.00

Also:
89 points, one puff
DELAMOTTE Blanc De Blancs Millesime 1999    
This pleasant wine offers clean, bright aromas of green apples and toasted bread in a slightly direct and not quite complex style. It is foamy on the palate with mid-sized bubbles and certainly is a very accomplished Champagne. That it was outclassed in this company is no dishonor given the competition, and its lower price certainly makes it an alternative to the high-priced spreads.

Fine and Rare Wines
Rockefeller Center, New York

November 2nd  , 2006

Le champagne Salon Le Mesnil a atteint des sommets à la vente aux enchères organisée par Christie’s le 2 novembre dernier.
Le lot composé de deux magnums : un du millésime 1990 et un du millésime 1995 a été adjugé à 3 760 dollars.

Champagne Salon Le Mesnil reached new heights at a sale of Fine and Rare Wines organised by Christie’s in New York on November 2.
Lot #153, 1 magnum of 1990 and 1 magnum of 1995, sold for $3760.