Salon 1999 – first taste

The iconic champagne house of Salon have this month released their 1999, the last of only 37 vintages they made in the twentieth century. Ten years of lees ageing is the standard for this most luxury of cuvées, and the bottles we tasted at the launch on Wednesday were disgorged in October 2010.

Disgorgement will occur every six months until the full 50,000 bottles and 5,000 magnums are released. The 1999 was a larger than average vintage for them, but it must nonetheless last the world three years until their next vintage, the 2002, is ready. The absence of a...