Sunday, 22 June 2008

• The King of Champagne

  On Friday I received my degree: Master of Business Administration!  Two years of blood, sweat, and tears culminated in the graduation ceremony on a warm, sunny day.  After I got my piece of paper and took a bunch of photos with friends and family, I heading back to Peter's place where a special bottle of Champagne was awaiting our return: 1996 Salon Le Mensil sur Oger Blanc de Blancs.  

  

  Many people are familiar with the big names in Champagne, like Dom Perignon, Cristal, and the ubiquitous Veuve Cliquot, but not many people know of the Champagne Salon.  I'll spare you the history lesson, but here's Salon in a nutshell: it's made from 100% chardonnay, and only produced in exceptional vintages from grapes that are from what is considered the best area in the Champagne region of France.  Where as other Champagne houses produce sparkling wines in mass quantities on a regular basis, Salon averages three releases per decade and produces no more than 60,000 bottles per vintage of this rare, highly-sought after Champagne.  This is definitely one of those wines that you save for a special occassion, because if you can get your hands on a bottle, you'll be paying top dollar for it: I paid $329 for the one I had on Friday.

  So the question you might be asking is: Was it worth it?

  That's hard to answer.  It was by far the best Champagne I have ever had.  The bubbles were fine, the colour was dazzling, and the aromas were incredible.  The crisp acidity was the first thing I noticed, and it was like the juices of a tart, green apple had flowed into my mouth.  A nutty, toastiness followed, along with a mouth-filling richness.  Absolutely exquisite!  Although we tried to savour it, Peter and I couldn't help ourselves, and we finished the bottle rather quickly.  Definitely an A+ wine in my book!  But also one that I will have to wait a very long time to enjoy again. 

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