Critic: Yohan Castaing

Tasted: 22-JAN-20

Drinking Dates: 2020-2030

Score: 98

A complicated winter and spring gave way to an ideal summer and a sunny September. Harvest began on 14 September. The beguiling nose has touches of rancio, celery, honey and spices. This Salon 1990 offers all the attributes of a great Champagne lovingly cellared for a long time. Elegance and precision on the palate, although some firmness still underlies its dense texture, making it ideal for some audacious food and wine pairing. Another great Salon.

Critic: Julia Harding MW

Tasted: 13-APR-16

Drinking Dates: 2013-2020

Score: 17.5

Disgorged 2012 with a dosage of 5-6 g/l.Starting to look a little more deeply coloured compared with the 1996. Quite a woody smell at first. Broad and yeasty and incredibly rich on the palate, balanced by Seville orange as well as intense citrus. Complex and just gently sparkling. Mouthfilling as well as very long. This is becoming more a wine than a fizz – if I am allowed to referred to Salon as 'fizz'. (JH)

Critic: Bruce Sanderson

Tasted: 15-NOV-01

Drinking Dates: -

Score: 97

Brilliant stuff. Vinous, with a patina of nutty maturity offset by a citrus- and honeysuckle-tinged freshness, all embraced by a taut, silky structure. The best is the finish, a kaleidoscope of biscuit, fig and walnut that goes on and on. Drink now through 2004. –BS

Critic: Stephen Tanzer

Tasted: 01-NOV-01

Drinking Dates: -

Score: 93+

Rather deep copper color. Aromas of brown butter, toffee and walnut call to mind a dry oloroso sherry. Then large-scaled, rich, smooth and mouthfilling, with impressive concentration and a powerful impression of solidity. Shockingly fresh in the mouth following the mature aromas. In fact, this wine seemed to grow more vibrant as it opened in the glass. Finishes very rich and very long. This superrich vintage produced chardonnay with a tendency toward heaviness, but this wine is undeniably impressive. -- Stephen Tanzer