{"product_id":"salon-brut-blanc-de-blancs-champagne-le-mesnil-1996-750ml","title":"Salon - Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne Le Mesnil 1996 (750ml)","description":"\u003cp\u003eCritical Acclaim\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e100 points Decanter\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA warm, even hot, spring with no real change during the summer, conditions that allowed the grapes to gorge themselves on sugar while preserving good acidity. Harvest began on 23 September. Hazelnut, spices, flowers form part of the remarkable aromatic complexity of this Champagne that also has also remarkable depth of character. Perhaps the most impressive Salon of the tasting. On the palate, a sensation of flesh and opulence, but also the telltale precision and erect backbone of racy acidity, and an enthralling finish ending on a refreshing note of salinity. A truly great Salon that leaves one speechless. (YC, 01\/2020)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e100 points Jeb Dunnuck\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA stunning wine through and through, the 1996 Champagne Salon is one for the ages. Tasted at 28 years old in August 2024, it felt youthful and pristine. The house's stylistic focus is fully resonant yet has so much life yet to give, retaining a calling card of compact tension and nerve. On opening, it poured a medium straw hue, hardly suggesting its age, and revealed aromatics of crushed seashells, lemon confit, crystalline salted caramel, and poached apples. The palate sets this wine apart, its mousse highly refined yet lively, with buoyant acidity and chalky richness expanding through the extraordinarily long finish. A profound bottle and a profound wine. (AF, 10\/2024)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e99 points Wine Advocate\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThis bottle of the 1996 Blanc de Blancs Le Mesnil Brut was drinking superbly and represents the apotheosis of Blanc de Blancs, unfurling over the course of three hours with a stunningly complex bouquet of citrus oil, confit lemon, dried white flowers and oyster shell, with hints of praline and pastry cream becoming more pronounced as the wine opens up in the glass. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, deep and multidimensional, defined by the incisive spine so typical of the vintage that, here, is cloaked in layers of crisp fleshy and chalky extract. The finish is long, penetrating and saline. (WK, 08\/2019)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e99 points The Wine Independent\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMaturing into a medium golden color, the 1996 Salon reveals open-knit, alluring scents of butterscotch, dried apricots, pineapple upside-down cake, and preserved lemons, plus wafts of sea spray and praline. The light to medium-bodied palate delivers Salon’s classic razor-fine backbone of acidity with rich, evolved caramelized tropical fruit layers while the bubbles remain exquisitely tiny and persistent. It gives a very long, mineral-tinged finish. (LPB, 10\/2023)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e99 points Vinous\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe 1996 Salon is just dazzling. It needs a good bit of air to fully open up, but the 1996 Salon is simply a mesmerizing Champagne that sizzles with energy, cut and total precision. A second bottle later in the week was every bit as compelling. When the 1996 Salon is on, it is just about as great as Champagne gets. (03\/2019)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e98 points James Suckling\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIncredible freshness and tightness with fantastic acidity and minerality. Full-bodied, compacted and intense. Flinty! Then light yeast and bread dough. Superb. In suspended animation! (03\/2016)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e97 points Burghound\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhile many of the best '96s do remain impressively youthful, this seems to be stuck in a time capsule that brooks no change, at least not willingly! The ultra-elegant nose is clearly still developing and while there are background traces of apple, yeast and floral undertones in evidence, it is the citrus elements that presently dominate. The incredible refinement doesn't stop with the nose however as the detailed and vibrant flavors are firm yet delicate with fine shadings of citrus, yeast and something vaguely akin to minerality that continues onto the pure, harmonious and driving finish that is bone dry but not austere. (10\/2015)\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Logan, Salon","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48146985615584,"sku":"130881","price":1943.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0649\/9713\/0464\/files\/salon-brut-blanc-de-blancs-champagne-le-mesnil_01c6c7d2-58e8-4ec8-8808-1da63b503dd2.gif?v=1763675814","url":"https:\/\/www.mywineconnection.com\/products\/salon-brut-blanc-de-blancs-champagne-le-mesnil-1996-750ml","provider":"My Wine Connection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}