Salon Champagne Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil 1997 1.5Ltr

This is phenomenal with mineral, sliced apple and honeysuckle aromas and flavors. It's full-bodied and so refined. Racy and intense. So youthful and long. Like a great and fresh Batard-Montrachet. Long life to go.

The 1997 holds an almost infuriating amount of promise for the wondrous things it clearly intends to become. Set alongside the 1995 and 1996, it drinks very young. Solidly fresh, and precise, as though keenly aware it is not yet meant to show all its cards. The bubbles are creamy, abundant, and full of joy, lending the wine an energy that feels both controlled and purposeful. As the wine sits in the glass and the bottle is slowly consumed over the course of three hours, there is a gradual, almost secretive evolution. Small corners of pleasure reveal themselves quietly, as if rewarding patience rather than indulgence. It is fascinating to watch a wine exercise such absolute poise. The depth is lovely, but deliberately elusive—you can see the horizon clearly, yet (fun as it is to try) never get close. This is a profoundly self-assured wine. It knows it is bound for greatness and sees no reason to rush the process. There is no youthful boasting here, no unnecessary theatrics. It is almost as if the wine derives its own pleasure from keeping you in a state of suspense, refusing to fully come out and play until it is damn well ready, and on its own terms. Blanc de Blancs at its finest.

The 1997 Salon, tasted from the 2019 disgorgement, is fabulous. Scents of marzipan, honey, apricot jam, tangerine, spice and brioche open first, followed by touches of reduction from extended time on the lees. The 1997 is in some ways mature, and yet the recent disgorgement brings so much freshness. Today, the 1997 is peaking. It is an understated, beautifully layered Champagne to savor over the next decade or so, maybe longer.

Walnut oil and smoky suggestions of struck flint in the nose of Salon’s 1997 Brut Le Mesnil are joined by intimation of the fresh lime and grapefruit that go on to inform its silken yet vivacious and refreshing palate with metaphorically cooling and sorbet-like refreshment. There is a vivid, hauntingly long, wave-like and buoying exchange of chalk and oyster shell, kelp and iodine with luscious citrus against a backdrop of creamy richness. This superb Salon – slightly more restrained than its 1999 counterpart, but no less intriguing or alluring – will merit at least a decade of cellaring.

An elegant and very fresh but distinctly yeasty nose of stupendous breadth leads to incredibly intense, pure, detailed and vibrant flavors that possess superb depth and simply knockout length. This is a powerful Salon and even though it doesn't have the solid acid spine of the very best vintages, this compensates by its approachability and terrific mouth feel. This could be drunk now or aged, depending on one's preference. If you can find it, I would lay in a case and drink it selectively over the next 20 years.

A delicate Champagne, with hints of honey and smoke winding through the apple pastry, orange peel and toast flavors. This is well-integrated, but the lively acidity still has the edge on the graphite-laced finish. Drink now through 2018. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 1,667 cases imported.