Kit de prensa Delamotte-Salon

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TWO SISTER HOUSES, A UNIQUE TERROIR...

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SUMMARY

CHAMPAGNE DELAMOTTE / CHAMPAGNE SALON

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CHAMPAGNE DELAMOTTE p.3

LE MESNIL SUR OGER, THE COTE DES BLANCS p.4THOROUGHLY MODERN TECHNIQUE AND CENTURIES OLD TRADITIONTHE HOUSE OF DELAMOTTE – THE CHAMPAGNE PARADOX p.5SMALL TEAM, EXTENSIVE KNOW-HOW p.64 IMPORTANT BRUTS - OF GREAT CHARM p.7

CHAMPAGNE SALON p.9

SUBTLETY IN PERFECTION p.10AIMÉ SALON : CHAMPENOIS, EUROPEAN AND FREE SPIRIT p.11WHERE PERFECTION IS TO BE FOUND p.13CHAMPAGNE SALON 1999 : NATURAL SOPHISTICATION p.16

DIDIER DEPOND, PRESIDENT OF CHAMPAGNE SALON AND CHAMPAGNE DELAMOTTE p.18

ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT

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Delamotte Champagne, dry and versatile, is the right Champagne for any occasion : day or night. It’s perfect for grand celebrations or small gatherings. Enjoy it just for the sheer pleasure of drinking Champagne, from a glass as an aperitif to the ideal companion drink with dessert. Sip it casually by the poolside or under a garden parasol. Savour it when dining at a fine restaurant.

This is a Champagne with character and finesse, yet easy to drink. It possesses outstanding quality borne of tradition and high standards of winemaking. Delamotte Champagne is a truly unique and limitless wine that exemplifies the extraordinary personality of the Côte des Blancs Terroir and delivers exceptional value.

ONE CRU, ONE SOURCE : LE MESNIL SUR OGER, THE COTE DES BLANCS

Le Mesnil-sur-Oger is 100% pure Côte des Blancs. Its very name attests to its quality. From the best cru, from the best location in Champagne, this Chardonnay grape is grown and harvested according to the very best traditions of the House of Delamotte. The grapes come from our own 5 hectares of gravely soil and a select group of faithful growers.

The blending is done using this incredible cru and other fine Chardonnay crus. For the Brut, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier grapes are also added to produce a subtle, well-balanced pleasant wine.

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THOROUGHLY MODERN TECHNIQUE AND CENTURIES OLD TRADITION : THE HOUSE OF DELAMOTTE – THE CHAMPAGNE PARADOX

Here is a Champagne house more than 200 years old (it is the fifth oldest Champagne house) founded in Reims in 1760 by François Delamotte, a vineyard owner.He and other Champagne producers were the creators of a tradition based on quality. Their modus operandi, far from being viewed as quaint, earned them a place in the Encyclopedia of Physiocrates. Their practices have been used as a model and a paradigm by other businesses due to their progressive outlook and insistence on quality. They were truly modern-minded people.

Their masterpiece – the wines – continue to be recreated anew each year and the house of Delamotte is a prime example of the traditions of quality they embody.Alexandre Delamotte brought the cellars, caves and offices of the House of Delamotte to one beautiful mansion at the end of the 18th century. In 1828, his brother, Nicolas Louis Delamotte, also known as the Chevalier Delamotte Barrachin, a former Chevalier de Malte and President of the Chamber of Commerce of Reims, assumed management of the House of Delamotte. In this tenure with the Chamber of Commerce, Nicolas was well known for hosting spectacular events.

THE FAMILLY GROWS

The Delamotte label was transferred to the House of Lanson as the years passed by and was eventually acquired by Marie-Louise de Nonancourt in the period between the two World Wars. The management of the company was entrusted to the capable hands of Charles de Nonancourt. It was Charles who established the golden rules for the business : ensure a consistent quality by purposefully limiting production and maintain at least three harvests of ageing in the cellars at all times.

In 1988, the House of Delamotte joined forces with the very famous Champagne Salon under the umbrella of the parent company, Laurent-Perrier.

Today, the House of Delamotte and its sister company Champagne Salon are under the direction of Didier Depond.

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SMALL TEAM, EXTENSIVE KNOW-HOW

Just ten people manage the annual production of 750 000 bottles. Every task involved from pruning the vines to selling the wines is carried out by this select team. The vinification is supervised by Michel Fauconnet, cellar master at Laurent-Perrier.

Chardonnay grapes from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger are the key ingredient in the Champagne with a small quantity of grapes from Avize, Oger and Cramant also being used to balance the harvest. Pinot Noir grapes from the 100% Grand crus of the Montagne de Reims, like Bouzy, Ambonnay and Tours-sur-Marne are added to make Delamotte Brut and Delamotte Rosé.The vineyards of Delamotte and those of their faithful growers receive special care to maintain uniform quality standards. A close cooperation, developed over decades of working together, ensures that pruning, nipping of buds, tying of the vines, and the other viticultural tasks are done in the most efficient manner to yield the highest quality grapes. The grapes are finally sorted during the harvest by pickers who have been working with Delamotte year after year.

The grape press is done through the Wilmes compressed air system, ensuring the highest quality must possible with today’s viticulture technology.

This aesthetic, rigorous endeavour to always work better is a long lasting ideal of the House.

Remember our Chevalier Delamotte Barachin, organiser of the coronation festivities in 1825. This occasion inspired Rossini to create his most joyous opera « Le voyage à Reims », depicting these events. It is said that the music was as sparkling, elegant and spirited as Champagne – Delamotte Champagne, of course.

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4 IMPORTANT BRUTS - OF GREAT CHARM

One of the founding principles of the House of Delamotte (and of its sister company, Salon) is that Champagne is first and foremost a wine to be enjoyed and appreciated for its quality and authenticity. The wine should be - from the very start - subtle, profound, rich with the aromas and flavours which ultimately create outstanding Champagne.

It is truly a labour of love for the small production team of the House of Delamotte. Four wines constitute this qualitative offer with the same guarantee of care and subtlety for all the wines of this terroir.

DELAMOTTE BRUT

A blend of approximately 50% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Noir and 20% Pinot Meunier, resulting in a fine wine, powerful but not aggressive, with a subtle freshness, supple roundness on the palate, and a clean and fruit-forward finish.This Champagne is pleasant, well-balanced, with a light golden colour. The bouquet has hints of citrus, white flowers, lemon zest and peach.

No excuse is necessary to find an occasion to drink such a wine – a clean, full-bodied Champagne, a Champagne to share in a moment of tenderness or happiness, an essential wine in the cellars of people who enjoy life. Delicious as an aperitif and equally delightful with a light fruit dessert.

DELAMOTTE BLANC DE BLANCS

100% Chardonnay from la Côte des Blancs, rich, surprising for its delicacy but at the same time full-bodied with mineral notes. One finds within its golden hue, floral hints - especially roses - citrus fruit, chalk, angélique flower and a touch of ginger. In the mouth, a lingering finish reminiscent of toast or brioche.

This is a Champagne that can be enjoyed with grilled fish, scampi, shrimp, crayfish, oysters, guinea fowl and almost any dish with a cream sauce.

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DELAMOTTE BLANC DE BLANCS VINTAGE 2002

Coming from 3 different 100% Grand crus from the Côte des Blancs: Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, the Delamotte Blanc de Blancs Vintage shows very well.Its colour is a bright straw yellow with green hints. After an opening juicy, green apple nose come hints of white blossom, hawthorn and acacia, followed by lightly toasted notes. The initial taste is rich – a suave, creamy but refreshing wine. It is followed by peach, yellow fruit compote, the lacy feel of apple tart – with a fine persistence and a superb finish.

The depth and complexity of the Champagne Delamotte Blanc de Blancs 2002 ideally complements poached foie gras, Sète fish stew, fish in cream sauce or casseroled veal with mushrooms. It is absolutely delicious with a simple, unmatured goat’s cheese.

DELAMOTTE ROSE

The blend of mostly Pinot Noir with some Chardonnay gives the wine its lovely pale pink colour and delicate hints of red fruit – strawberry, raspberry and even wild strawberry.

This is a refined, somewhat smoky wine, the stuff that dreams are made of – for an afternoon or a dessert time, with perhaps a raspberry charlotte, strawberries on their own or a red fruit coulis.

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THE LEGEND OF THE CENTURY

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SUBTLETY IN PERFECTION

The taste of elegance, of the passionate days of the roaring 1920’s all to be found in a champagne flute.The sparkle of a bright yellow diamond, with a fine, persistent mousse and long creamy finish. Initially bergamot and saline flavours come to the fore, then vanilla, dried fruits and buttery notes with the freshness of grapefruit and fig, and all the while slowly revealing its wondrous and unique character.

Aimé Salon, aesthete and amateur of Champagne, who at the very beginning of the 20th century created the perfect Champagne initially for his and his own friends’ consumption, has left in a precious legacy in Salon.

Salon is a unique Champagne. All the emphasis in the production of this exceptional wine is on the singular. It was originally the product of one single man, Aimé Salon; from one single region, the Côte de Blancs; from one single cru, le Mesnil-sur-Oger; from one single grape variety, Chardonnay; and from one single vintage, with no blending whatsoever.

Uniqueness is also perfection : nothing can be left to chance in order to obtain the exceptional wine that is Champagne Salon, and to take advantage of what nature, the soil and the climate give us: purity, character and individuality in the wine that needs careful nurturing so that it blooms after long years of ageing.

Such is the ongoing quest carried out by those who create Salon today.

CHAMPAGNE SALON

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AIMÉ SALON : CHAMPENOIS, EUROPEAN AND FREE SPIRIT

In essence, he was someone who was mad about Champagne, someone who one would have loved to have known, so vivid are the descriptions and memories of him.

Born towards the end of the last century, Eugène-Aimé Salon, son of a Champenois cart maker, chose adventure as his way of life without ever losing touch with his native region. He went to Paris, as a young man full of enthusiasm and found himself a position in the fur trade. Initially a messenger boy, he rapidly gained responsibility and took the company’s destiny into his own hands, developing it, and in doing so he became one of the most glittering personalities of Parisian life at the turn of the century.

Frequently travelling to New York on business, he loved the good life and all the best things, and, it goes without saying for a Champenois, the best Champagne. He would dream of this subject – he dreamt of the most exceptional Champagne there could ever be, of a unique wine which would belong only to him.He had kept close ties with Champagne, and he sought advice from his brother-in-law, a cellar master. There was land to be bought and work to be done. He chose the terroir, la Côte des Blancs; the best cru, le Mesnil-sur-Oger; the best parcels of vineyards, those above the church, where the most perfect balance of sugar and acidity could be achieved. His vision became clearer: he would create, for his personal consumption, a non-blended Champagne.

At the beginning of the 20th century he just created the Blanc de Blancs. The first known vintage was 1905. Now that the tragedy of the war was over, he was encouraged by his numerous friends to profit more fully from his wine and the house of Salon was created, to cater for his new clientele.


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Ever since, Salon has been found in the World’s most renowned establishments; Maxim’s made it its House Champagne in the 1920’s. Since the 1928 vintage, when Salon was unanimously accepted by connoisseurs, the requirements have remained the identical. Only in exceptional years are the great vintages made, a feature unique to Salon, with limited production and traditional vinification.

Aimé Salon was also a European, and was involved in the struggle for a modern and peaceful vision of Europe in the 1930’s along with Louise Weiss. Up until his death in 1943, Aimé Salon remained a free and creative man of ideas. His Champagne remains a symbol of his search for a happier life, a symbol of generosity which has lasted through the years up to the present: the desire to bring the best to man, in whatever way possible.


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THE HOUSE OF SALON : WHERE PERFECTION IS TO BE FOUND

The proof that memory and history are important is shown by the bottles in the cellars from nearly all the vintages that have ever been produced at Salon.

A SIMPLE HISTORY

Headed by Aimé Salon until his death in 1943, the house was then left to his nephew. In 1988, Champagne Laurent-Perrier, a family-owned company, became the majority shareholder of Champagne Salon.

Today, the house of Salon, along with its ancient neighbour and sister, Champagne Delamotte (the fifth oldest Champagne house, founded in 1760) are directed by one man, Didier Depond.

CUVÉES

Situated in le Mesnil-sur-Oger, in the Côte des Blancs, the house of Salon has only one Champagne, the cuvee ‘S’. This Champagne is produced from a one-hectare parcel owned by Salon: “Salon’s garden”, and from 19 other smaller parcels in Mesnil-sur-Oger, chosen by Aimé Salon at the beginning of the century.Pressing is carried out at le Mesnil-sur-Oger, with a traditional press used only for Salon. The wine produced here is rare on all counts: always a single harvest, single cru, single grape variety with limited yields and to complete the singularity in this wine, it is only produced in the best vintages.


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The wines are cellared in the bottle for an average of 10 years, gaining in complexity and finesse. There is, therefore, just over 12 years stock in the chalk cellars at le Mesnil-sur-Oger. 95% of the production is exported to sixty countries, where Salon is recognised among the top houses worldwide. It is the icon of the Champagne.

Champagne Salon is at the forefront of Champagne. Its brilliance, style and class make it one of the purest, most profound and raciest Champagnes that one could ever drink.

DECISION AFTER DECISION CREATES PERFECTION

From the start, Aimé Salon had a determined idea; a Champagne that was elegant, fine and subtle, but at the same time finely structured, using only Chardonnay, from one single Grand Cru village, in the Côte des Blancs.

Salon still only produces one wine, one vintage, Blanc de Blancs, uniquely from Chardonnay grapes, coming from the same original 20 parcels in Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The grapes are picked and sorted by hand.

Only the first pressing, or cuvée, is used. This is the lightest, freshest juice, containing the highest percentage of acidity, which is essential to the evolution and vivacity of the Champagne. This alone does not make a unique wine: only the exceptional years are kept for production, when the grapes contain the ideal combination of richness of fruit, sugar and acidity, which happens on average every two to three years.

Choice, selection, rarity: the price of quality of Champagne Salon.


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SECRETS OF A WORK OF ART

The first fermentation occurs in a stainless steel tank, where the temperature can be controlled and freshness preserved.

It is the level of acidity that makes Salon so superbly fresh and vibrant. The slow marriage of acidity and fruit over 10 years on average of bottle-ageing in the cellars, gives Champagne Salon elegance, finesse, balance and exceptional depth as well as a fine and delicate mousse.

It is these decisions, at each step of production of Salon, the conscious decision to be the best, the most beautiful and the rarest, that allow fervent admirers of Salon to taste a perfectly balanced Champagne, with rich and complex aromas. One can always find nuts, citrus, floral tones, minerals, sometimes smoky, sometimes doughy, according to its age, time, length on the palate and fine, persistent mousse. It is easily compared in its fullness and richness to the great wines of Burgundy.

This is what makes Salon unique:simply put, it is a grand vin... with bubbles.


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CHAMPAGNE SALON 1999 : NATURAL SOPHISTICATION

37th and last vintage of the 20th century,

Salon 1999 Champagne has stirring perfection, the future power of an adolescent.Devilish beauty

37, the final count. There have only been 37 years worthy of Salon Champagne during the entire 20th century.37 vintages, all different, all sublime, all unique, like this exceptional Salon Champagne, for which the word “one” is of prime importance: originally the champagne of one man, Aimé Salon, cultivated on one stretch of land, the Côte des Blancs, from one vineyard, Mesnil-sur-Oger, from one type of grape, Chardonnay and one year.

1999 is the thirty-seventh and last vintage of the 20th century: a wild nature, to be tamed, with power and expectancy, looking to a glorious future, still imminent. It has the crazy charm of adolescence, this devilish beauty that is being transformed into magnificence.

1999 – A SUPERLATIVE YEAR FOR CHAMPAGNE

The most abundant grape harvest in the history of Champagne! One of the warmest years of the century! But, on the heels of a fairly mild winter and a warm early spring came a series of hailstorms. The weather settled and the Chardonnay grape flowers bloomed on 11 June – magnificent. Rain in early July and a surprise month of August: a cold spell and an eclipse of the moon on the 11th. The harvest promised to be splendid, started well but ended with rain. Production, which was already significant, increased further. However, some winegrowers were able to reduce the weight of the vines at the right time: as a result, the wines gained in alcohol content (an average of 10%) with a low level of acidity of 6.3% due to the heat of the summer and rain during picking. Powerful, profound, lively and complex wines.


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SOIL AND VINTAGE: ADOLESCENT TURMOIL

What is this conflict, this duel creating confusion in 1999 Salon? Will soil or the vintage reign victorious over the other?On one hand, the chalky “minerality” and vivacity specific to the soil of Mesnil-sur-Oger. On the other, the depth and sensual roundness that reflect the character of the vintage, without the over-ripeness sometimes found. It is from the tension between these forces that the 1999 Salon takes its personality – this delicate balance between proud adolescence, created from the potential of decades, given by its immense “minerality”, and its youthful ardour, extensive but under control. Fine character and devilish charm. A very pale yellow with barely green hints and a lively nose but still discreet, 1999 Salon, with its clear immediate taste, has that juvenile grace that captures the palate, itself straight, firm and textured. A quite natural sophistication that is a gift and persists just like the creamy bubbles.Brioche, white bread, white blossom, white fruit and bitter almond flavours are still developing. The middle palate and aftertaste are crystalline and it has a lingering finish with hints of citrus. Ten years is all it has taken the 1999 Salon to reach dazzling maturity. Decades will follow.

DELICACIES TO ACCOMPANY 1999 SALON

Exquisite, delicate, gracious and subtle dishes. Warm oysters and Aquitaine caviar, a lightly cooked sea bass with a truffle risotto or calf’s sweetbreads with morel mushrooms. An excellent Parma or Iberico ham, the centre of a Parmesan cheese, aged for thirty-six months. Or simply by itself, with grilled almonds. Savour it, drink it barely cold, between 13° and 15°. Sensual pleasure assured.


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DIDIER DEPOND, PRÉSIDENTCHAMPAGNES SALON AND DELAMOTTE

An exacting and passionate character to complement two renowned Champagne Houses.

Didier Depond, born in Tours in 1964, inherited a love of wine at birth.

The son of a family of vine growers living in the Loire Valley and descended from a line of vine growers, Didier learned from an early age the significance of the local wine’s distinctive flavour and awareness of the different seasons in the vineyards and vines. He has in his blood patience and stamina, both virtues of a wine grower par excellence.

After his commercial training Didier Depond joined Laurent-Perrier in 1986 where, with his talent, he successfully managed sales in the Paris area for 4 years. With the energy and fire of youth he absorbed and became immersed in the spirit and soul of the House he represented. He discovered the ancient mysteries and secrets of the “Grand” Champagnes and acquired the “savoir-faire” and the “savoir-boire” at the same time developing an intense but discerningly enthusiastic taste for quality wine and food.

As a result of his travels and his work directly on the market, he has gained a rich experience in the wines and spirits field.

In 1994, Didier Depond became the head of the marketing department responsible for all the Champagnes, Wines and Spirits distributed by Laurent-Perrier.

Since November 1997, Didier Depond shapes the destiny of the two prestigious Champagne houses of Mesnil-sur-Oger, Salon and Delamotte.

A man of passion and compassion, he is continually developing the outstanding image of these two exceptional wines.

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www.salondelamotte.com

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Kit de prensa Delamotte-Salon

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