Salon - Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Le Mesnil 2012 (750ml)
Decanter: 99 Points
The Salon 2012 has scintillating aromatic brilliance and purity with seductive scents of white fruit, citrus zest and spring flowers capped by a touch of spice. With some air, pastry-like notes add to its complex yet elegant fragrance, which remains essentially citrussy in character. On the palate, it reverberates with kinetic energy coursing through its crystalline and elongated structure, making this vintage Champagne seem a bit atypical for Salon. Indeed, this edition is supremely elegant and subtle to a degree that surpasses those of other recent vintages. Salon 2012 is a racy thoroughbred that will go the distance without effort, a telltale sign being its chalk-infused yet airborne finish. In time, it will in all likelihood merit the ultimate accolade of a 100-point score.
Wine Advocate: 98 Points
Back in 2014, Salon's president Didier Depond was quoted in the press as saying that “since 2008, there has been no genuinely great vintage in Champagne" and that a 2012 from Salon wouldn't be released. But the just-released 2012 Brut Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil shows that he had good reason to change his mind, as to my palate this is, after the 2008, the finest Salon produced this millennium. Unwinding in the glass with notes of citrus oil, wet stones, freshly baked bread, white currants and oyster shell, it's full-bodied, deep and concentrated, with a tightly wound core of fruit, racy acids and an elegant pinpoint mousse. Concluding with a long and resonant finish, this is a structured and powerful Salon that's a lot more incisive than, for example, the 2002 at the same stage, but which also carries more muscle and substance than a leaner vintage such as 2007. For readers that have balked at the pricing of the magnum-only 2008, the 2012 isn't far off the latter's level in quality, and will presumably be distributed more conventionally.
James Suckling: 98 Points
This starts off tightly knit, but opens up to aromas of chalk, biscuit, lemon pith and jasmine, then turning to apricot, tangerine peel, pastries and chamomile. Dried apple and hints of mint, dried spice and juniper, too. It’s layered and refined with wonderful complexity. Well-integrated mousse and acidity here, making it so approachable already. Evolves and builds. Drink or hold.
Vinous: 97 Points
The 2012 Salon is absolutely gorgeous. It offers a beguiling mix of radiance and energy that seems to capture a little bit of elements of some of its older siblings. The expression of fruit is radiant and quite overt, but without reaching the tropical exuberance of the 2006. In shape, the 2012 recalls the mid-weight style of 2007 with the freshness of 2008, but not quite the youthful austerity of that wine. If that sounds like an appealing combination, well it is. The 2012 Salon is all harmony and class.
