To share with fans of Champagne Salon:   

Some info, from the House of Champagne Salon, as answers to

my questions on Champagne Salon corks and disgorgement dates.

For Salon 1985, note the tiny Lot No.L85-199 above 750ml. mark!

As for Salon 1997,

note the Lot No.L9702908, laser-engraved on the bottle

My questions to the House of Champagne Salon  

Dear Sir or Madam:

This is Eric Gu, a champagne amateur in Shanghai, China.

As my friends and I drink more Salon champagnes, we've met with some puzzles. We’d really appreciate it if you could enlighten us on our following questions, which will help us greatly in better understanding and appreciation of Champagne Salon.

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1. We found two types of corks, in terms of cork length, for Champagne Salon 750ml bottles.

Salon 85 (Lot No.L85-599) tasted in Feb 2008, with normal length cork, was fantastic with unforgettable, rocking finish; while a bottle of Salon 85 (Lot No.L85-199) tasted in May 2010, with extra long cork, appeared to be bone-dry and very restrained.

Similar story on Salon 97: a bottle of Salon 97 (Lot No.L9702908) tasted in March 2009, with normal length cork, was very open and charming; while another bottle of Salon 97 (also with Lot No.L9702908) tasted in Feb 2010, with extra long cork, appeared to be bone-dry, tight and restrained.

So what's the difference between these two different cork-length versions? Normal length cork for wines with normal dosage, and extra long cork for wines with less or zero dosage?

2. The Lot No.

In the case of Salon 1985, we have met with Lot No.L85-199, L85-599 and L85-999. What do 199, 599 and 999 stand for? Disgorgement respectively in Jan, May and September, 1999?

In the case of Salon 1997, what does Lot No.L9702908 mean? Disgorgement on September 2nd, 2008?

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As champagne amateur, we appreciate that Champagne Salon is still traditionally disgorged by hand. And we fully understand that champagne has its life, thus there are inevitable bottle variations and different life cycles of the same vintage as disgorged at different timing. But your kind answers to my puzzles above would definitely help me better understand Champagne Salon. So thanks in advance for your time!

Best regards

Eric Gu (Fizz Eric)

A champagne amateur in Shanghai, China

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Replies from the House of Champagne Salon

Dear Sir,

 
Thank you for your interest in Champagne Salon ; we truly appreciate your passion for our wines.

 
Here are some rules to better understand Champagne Salon and natural process that can appear into a bottle of Champagne in general:

 
1) there is no connection between the length of a cork and the dosage into a wine : cork is an organic product that unfortunately does not evolve as well as our wines themselves, specifically when the wine has been transported over and over the years since its release. So it may happen that a cork does shrink with the time, which makes it longer than a cork which has just been put on a bottle, but this does not mean that we are using 2 types of corks. We are always using the same cork whatever the disgorgement date and whatever the vintage.

2) as soon as the cork does shrink, it does not protect the wine anymore from oxidation; so this is probably the explanation for the bone-dry, tight and restrained flavors you tasted.

There has been no trend in cork problems with the mentionned vintages or any other vintage in particular at Champagne Salon. Your other bottles and other vintages of Salon should be in good condition for years to come.

3) the method used to identify our disgorgement dates has evolved with the years : to the time of Salon 1985 release, we were mentionning the month and the year of disgorgement,
so L85 means 1985 Vintage and 599 means May 1999, 199 means January 1999 and 999 means September 1999.
Since the release of Salon 1996 (April 2006), we are using another method, which is more precise : L9702908, means Salon 1997 vintage disgorged on the 029th day of 2008.
We do include now the exact day in the year.

4) All the wines you get have received a dosage.

I hope these information have been helpful to better understand the differencies you have experienced during your tastings.

Remaining at your disposal,
Best regards
Audrey CAMPOS - Ph (0)3 26 57 41 45 - Fax (0)3 26 57 79 29 - www.champagnesalon.com/1997