M_Meer
December 17, 2021, 2:40am
21
Enablers!
Fried gizzards will have to wait until round 2…
MChang
December 17, 2021, 3:52am
22
The bottle in question was bought in 2018 from Union Square Wines in NY, so not immediately upon release but I think they are responsible/trustworthy and got a bunch of OWCs in at once, and it was properly stored in the cellar until that dinner. Previous bottles that I’ve had of this wine including from the same OWC a year earlier have been more open, but I echo the comments of Michael and Andrew.
Other non-Salon 2002s that I’ve had this year have been similarly shy, including a Dom Perignon P2 last week. Is this vintage just shutting down? After these experiences I’m sending the rest of my 02s off to storage and plan to not revisit for several years. And agreed with Andrew that it was good enough to seek out more.
Weirdly Krug seemed to be the most open. I’ve had 3-4 bottles recently and they’ve been nice.
Greg_K
December 17, 2021, 5:57am
23
The bottle in question was bought in 2018 from Union Square Wines in NY, so not immediately upon release but I think they are responsible/trustworthy and got a bunch of OWCs in at once, and it was properly stored in the cellar until that dinner. Previous bottles that I’ve had of this wine including from the same OWC a year earlier have been more open, but I echo the comments of Michael and Andrew.
Other non-Salon 2002s that I’ve had this year have been similarly shy, including a Dom Perignon P2 last week. Is this vintage just shutting down? After these experiences I’m sending the rest of my 02s off to storage and plan to not revisit for several years. And agreed with Andrew that it was good enough to seek out more.
Pretty sure we had a few 02s at the big dinner yesterday (it was a bit of a blur) and they didn’t feel shut down. The 02 Krug certainly wasn’t. I’ve had the 02 Cristal a few times this year and it’s drinking like a very rich wine.
It’s Salon, it’s not as if there’s no bottle variation.
MChang
December 17, 2021, 6:09am
24
The bottle in question was bought in 2018 from Union Square Wines in NY, so not immediately upon release but I think they are responsible/trustworthy and got a bunch of OWCs in at once, and it was properly stored in the cellar until that dinner. Previous bottles that I’ve had of this wine including from the same OWC a year earlier have been more open, but I echo the comments of Michael and Andrew.
Other non-Salon 2002s that I’ve had this year have been similarly shy, including a Dom Perignon P2 last week. Is this vintage just shutting down? After these experiences I’m sending the rest of my 02s off to storage and plan to not revisit for several years. And agreed with Andrew that it was good enough to seek out more.
Pretty sure we had a few 02s at the big dinner yesterday (it was a bit of a blur) and they didn’t feel shut down. The 02 Krug certainly wasn’t. I’ve had the 02 Cristal a few times this year and it’s drinking like a very rich wine.
It’s Salon, it’s not as if there’s no bottle variation.
Our Cristal was late release.
MattG
December 17, 2021, 6:41am
25
As with most Salon, there is bottle variability, but I have never had a bottle of 2002 that has been tight - not on release, over time, or when I last had it a month ago. In terms of Salon and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger Chardonnay, I have found the 2002 Salon to be a quite forward wine that has been fairly easy to drink since release. Not especially complex, but fruity, forward, and rather easy to enjoy. Not worth the price in my book and not nearly as good as the 1996 or sleeper 1997 (I even prefer the 1999). Laurent-Perrier purchased Salon after the 1988 vintage was in the cellars and certainly cleaned things up in the winery and eventually how the wines were cared for on export/distribution, but the wine has changed and outside of the 1996 (and maybe 1997), this has become a shell of what it once was.
Would you characterize Delamotte similarly?
Michael,
I don’t know - it could just be palate differences, serving temperatures, variability, environment. Even on release or just before release, this was an outgoing Salon in my book. The last time I had this was at a blind tasting of 2002s and it took wine number 2 of the night by the group. I had it as my number 3as it drank well and didn’t appear to need any more time. The wines were all served at cellar temperature and warmed up from there. This showed very well to the group (round, fruity, creamy, bright) and really stood out. A couple of folks remarked that they finally found a Salon ready to drink and not overly mature/oxidized.
* Edited to correct where Salon ranked during the tasting mentioned - I initially had it placed one spot too high for both the group and myself.
My experiences have been the same as yours, Brad: it’s a fleshy, muscular, rather fruit-driven vintage of Salon. It is one of the last vintages I would turn to if I were looking for a 1996-like experience.
The bottle in question was bought in 2018 from Union Square Wines in NY, so not immediately upon release but I think they are responsible/trustworthy and got a bunch of OWCs in at once, and it was properly stored in the cellar until that dinner. Previous bottles that I’ve had of this wine including from the same OWC a year earlier have been more open, but I echo the comments of Michael and Andrew.
Other non-Salon 2002s that I’ve had this year have been similarly shy, including a Dom Perignon P2 last week. Is this vintage just shutting down? After these experiences I’m sending the rest of my 02s off to storage and plan to not revisit for several years. And agreed with Andrew that it was good enough to seek out more.
Evan, I have been drinking '02 Comtes since release and has always been ready to go IMO, both from 750 and mags. Another '02 that has drunk very well since release is Piper Rare. I have not been a fan of the other big name '02’s.
