I truly appreciate 2004 and 2006 Bordeaux as restaurant vintages. It’s rewarding as a sommelier to recommend something that is “drinking well,” as opposed to the opening a tightly wound and unforgiving wine.  I also like being able to talk about the general tasting attributes of a region, then have the wine supply the message; this is one such bottle.

At under $18 retail, the Le Sartre, a second label of sorts from Château Carbonnieux, delivers. I recently read the 2007 release getting a little praise. Nice.  Here’s my take on the 2004.

The color is a rather cohesive garnet of a medium-plus concentration, showing high viscosity with medium stained tears. The robe is expansive: salmon, orange, brick to the garnet core. The nose is just delightful with a medium-plus intensity and a touch of vinosity. The fruit is classic, fresh blackberry, Crème de Cassis meets Framboise and black plum; then, some turned-earth, mouth-cut blood, graphite and gravel, violet meets clove and vanilla. There is a hint of cinnamon bark. Altogether lovely.

Smooth and dry on the palate with medium-plus body. The vinosity gives the wine softness, integrating medium-plus acid and tannin beautifully. A very quiet 12.5% abv with a complexity that’s not life-changing, but at this price, most definitely it’s night-changing. A very elegant pizza wine [as we enjoyed it one evening], but would be stellar with meat dishes, or even a meat pizza, for that matter.

http://www.wineisdivine.com/

http://twitter.com/wineisdivine    

This April’s Decanter magazine wasn’t as laden with information for flashcards as previous months. I already had much of the information chronicled. There is a tasting note on 2009 Chablis, which I think is worthwhile jotting down on page 44.  Drink 2009 before 2008 as it’s a low acid, not classic year for Chablis. [Many of you know this just from tasting!] That’s really about it. The real value of the issue for me as a MS candidate is the article on Champagne Salon. Here are the flashcards I created from pages 50 and 51.

Yearly Production of Champagne Salon
Made only in good years at around 50,000 bottles.

From where does the fruit for Salon originate?
Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in the Cote des Blancs [100% Chardonnay]

Who started Salon Champagne? When was the first vintage? How many vintages have been produced?
Eugène-Aimé Salon / 1905 / there have been 37 vintages produced between 1905 thru 1999, the current release [so, on average, it’s produced around every three years]

The minimum ageing of Champagne Salon
10 years

Name of the original plot for Salon Champagne, the quantity of parcels today, where the fruit is sourced and the total hectares.
“le Jardin Salon” / 19 parcels all under contract in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger at 10ha total.

Average vine age for Salon
35 years [this is well over the average for the Champagne region in general]

Location of all of the parcels of land for the grapes grown destined to become Salon Champagne and the soil type
The parcels are all mid slope in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and share a thin topsoil, where the root system digs deep through chalk, this explains the high minerality of the wine.

Future vintages slated to be Champagne Salon
2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 [said to be the greatest vintage ever, perhaps]

Who owns Salon as of 1988?
Laurent-Perrier

How is Salon Champagne made today?
Grapes are pressed in Oger; the wine is made at Laurent-Perrier facility in Tours-sur-Marne in stainless steel tanks; then back to Le Mesnil for secondary fermentation and ageing.

This may be way more information than anyone may want to know about Champagne Salon, but I find it all fascinating, and if I get asked any questions about the illustrious bub, I think I’ll be prepared this time! [I alternated the spelling of Champagne Salon, Salon Champagne and Salon sans Champagne on purpose; how do you say it or display it on your wine list? Leave a comment or hit me with a tweet.]