Salon began rolling this packaging out publicly this week and I’m a little shocked at the magnums only being sold with the bottles. They swear they are not going to break the packages up and the entire 8,000 magnum release will only be sold this way. Each magnum of 2008 is packaged with (2) bottles each of 2004, 2006, and 2007. That means that for the 8,000 magnums being released, they are also packaging up 16,000 bottles each of the 2004, 2006, and 2007. I find this very strange.
It is tough to nail down the exact production numbers of Salon in each vintage, but it averages around 60k per vintage. It can get as high as 100k (1996 is an example of this), but it can get down to 20-30k too (2008 is an example). Production on the 2004 was around 45k bottles and 2006 and 2007 closer to 60k. This includes bottles planned for the original release, hold backs for library releases, and, I think, magnums counted as two bottles. They are essentially selling a large portion of the last three vintages as part of the 2008 package. My guess as to why is that the wine wasn’t moving well and this gives them a chance to move it… and at a premium. Great move on their part if they can get it. They know 2008 is in demand so why not move other stuff you want out of inventory. I would not be surprised if they move all 8,000 sets without too much difficulty.
For as treasured a wine as Salon is, it has had a hard time moving in many vintages. It entered back into the US market with the 1979 and was cold until the 1990 and 1995 vintages when it finally starting moving in the $150-$200 range. Next came the white hot 1996 vintage when it was easy to find in the $200-$250 price range. They tried to raise the price to $300-$350 with the 1997 vintage and ended up blowing it out at sub-$150 to move it and then decided to just keep 10-15,000 bottles for library releases. With the 1999, the price was back up over $300 and it continued to go up from there and now it is hard to find a bottle of a recent release for under $400. Is it really selling all that well?
I see a lot of Salon from 1999 onwards still sitting around in shops. The 2002 is the exception that seems to have sold well, but the other vintages don’t seem to have moved like many would expect. Maybe not to the same degree, but this almost reminds me a bit of the 1985 and 1988 bottles that sat around unsold in the late 90s and early 00s. Again, is Salon really selling well? Looking at the data, I don’t think recent vintages have moved. I know that they are doing everything they can to not discount recent vintages to move bottles like they did with 1997. My gut tells me this packaging is the solution.
I haven’t tasted 2008 Salon so no comment from me on the quality, but I have been very disappointed in most vintages going back to 1982. Lots of variation and unrealized potential especially in wines like 1982, 1985, 1988, and 1990. The 1996 is great and I like 1997 too, but the others leave me lacking. Recent vintages from 1999 - 2007 seem way too forward for my liking and lacking the desired structure and backbone. I hope 2008 is as great as folks say, but, to me, the most exciting thing about Salon is that a new winemaker is coming on-board in 2020.
Michel Fauconnet is retiring and Dominique Demarville is making the move from Veuve Clicquot to Laurent-Perrier in 2020 and taking over all the winemaking, vineyard, and production responsibilities for the group. This means not only Laurent-Perrier, but also Salon and Delamotte. I see nothing but great things ahead for Laurent-Perrier as Dominique is one of the top (maybe the top) Chef de Caves in Champagne.
Final thoughts - as I stated, it is tough to nail number exact Salon production numbers, but I have been told different figures at different times on the 2008 production. It is higher than 8k as some magnums are being held back, but I don’t know if the final number is 10k, 12k or something else. Why did they only make a limited number of magnums in 2008? Because that is what they wanted to do. Salon doesn’t have much actual land that it historically owns. Laurent-Perrier has a lot of land and grape supply that they use in Salon and depending on the year and marketing plan, they choose to do different things. 2008 is clearly a year they wanted to try something different with the wine.
Maybe I am way off base with my thoughts so feel free to flame away.
