Chardonnay is the world's most famous white-wine grape and also one of the most widely planted. Although the most highly regarded expressions of the variety are those from Burgundy and California, many high-quality examples are made in Italy, Australia, New Zealand and parts of South America.

De...

Champagne Blanc de Blancs

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Blanc de Blancs is white Champagne made exclusively from white grapes, and usually Chardonnay. Those made only from one or more red wine grapes – usually Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier – are called Blanc de Noirs. The two terms translate as "White from Whites" and "White from Blacks".

The Côte des...

Champagne Salon

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Salon is one of the most prestigious houses in Champagne. Instead of making a range of styles that includes a prestige cuvée like most Champagne houses, Salon makes a single prestige cuvée, which is made entirely from Chardonnay from the village Le Mesnil-sur-Oger.

The house was founded in 1911 ...

Aggregated Critics Score

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95 / 100

141 Scores

95 - 100

90 - 94

85 - 89

80 - 84

75 - 79

0 - 74

Critic Reviews

(141) Learn more

PRO Jancis Robinson

2002 Vintage

Scores available to PRO users only.

97 / 100 Falstaff Magazin

2004 Vintage Tasted: Nov 2017

Helles Grüngelb, Silberreflexe, sehr lebendiges Mousseux. Wei?e Blüten, Feuerstein, ein Hauch von Limetten, im Hintergrund ein zarter Touch von Quittengelée, in der Tiefe finden sich Nuancen von Salz, Jod und sogar Menthol, sehr fein facettiert. Komplex, vin?s, sehr saftig, eine angenehme Fruchtsü?e spielt mit der integrierten S?urestruktur, feine salzige Mineralit?t im Abgang, elegant und anhaltend, steht am Anfang eine sehr langen Karriere. Peter Moser

97 / 100 Tom Cannavan

2004 Vintage Tasted: Jan 2017

Fabulous nose; much more open and giving than the 2002 vintage was at the same stage, complex but terribly pure and fine. The palate ha a certain nuttiness, a Cox's pippin English apple quality, but quite dazzling acidity, the mineral quality so long and fine.

97 / 100 Tom Cannavan

2002 Vintage Tasted: Jan 2014

Only around 5,000 cases of Salon are released, and Vianney pointed out that we were amongst the first couple hundred people in the world to taste the new vintage. Saved by perfect late summer weather, 2002 is generally acknowledged to be a superb Champagne vintage. With a dosage of only 5g/l of sugar and with malolactic fermentation blocked, this young and tense wine is all about purity, discretion and nervosity at this stage. There is an appealing custard note, but the lemon and lime skin intensity of the fruit is what subtly drives the aromatics. It is pristine stuff, a little juicier orange note emerging, subtle hints of exotic spice and floral top notes. It is low-key, but complex. In the mouth there is a burgeoning sense of richness, a thin layer of marzipan and biscuit, but spread over such intense mineral and refined apple fruit and saline acidity. The mousse is fine but lively, and those zesty and floral notes swirl around the core of acidity in the finish. This Champagne should have considerable cellaring potential - and the potential to be absolutely outstanding. ￡280, Corney & Barrow.

95 / 100 Tom Cannavan

1999 Vintage Tasted: Jan 2014

I tasted this wine shortly before Christmas and thought it was superb (scoring 96), so it was a welcome chance to taste it again in different surroundings. The 37th ever bottling of Salon is a different animal in many ways, with more roundness and depth of fruit, presumably through both vintage conditions and the extra three years of age. It came from a warm year that was one of the highest yielding ever in Champagne. It has a slightly deeper colour and is a little more open and nutty though still with a pristine fruit character that is elegant and pure. Joyous stuff for drinking already, there are hints of ginger, pear and spices, a real feeling of warmth, but then the tension builds through the core of refined acid. Delicious, though arguably without the aesthetic beauty and infinite precision of the 2002.

94 / 100 Falstaff Magazin

1999 Vintage Tasted: Nov 2012

Helles Grüngelb, feines Mousseux. Feine Blütenaromen, zarte gelbe Apfelfrucht, ein Hauch von Honigmelone, Nuancen von Vanille. Saftig, elegant, feine wei?e Birnenfrucht, finessenreiche S?urestruktur, mineralisch-salzig, ein Hauch von Zitronen im Abgang, besitzt eine sehr gute L?nge, feine Apfelfrucht im Nachhall, ein rares Champagner-Juwel.

18.5 / 20 La Revue du Vin de France

2007 Vintage Tasted: Jan 2020

99 / 100 Robert Parker The Wine Advocate

1996 Vintage Tasted: Aug 2019

When to drink: 2019 to 2035

95 / 100 Robert Parker The Wine Advocate

1997 Vintage Tasted: Aug 2019

When to drink: 2020 to 2037

96 / 100 Robert Parker The Wine Advocate

2007 Vintage Tasted: May 2019

When to drink: 2020 to 2037

95 / 100 Robert Parker The Wine Advocate