Newly released Salon 2006 and friends

As one of the most prestigious and rarest cuvées in Champagne, Salon always steals the headlines when it is released, but the first thing I want to mention is the exceptionally good quality of its sister house, Delamotte. Their Blanc de Blancs 2007 is around one eighth of the price of its trendier sibling, but the difference in quality is minimal – or so it seemed at the launch event of Salon 2006 in London in July.

There are certain provisos, of course: Salon 2006 has only recently been disgorged and will certainly improve in bottle. In particular, the nose...