We’re super excited to welcome Champagne Salmon back to our pages, today. This is only the second time in our 11 year history that we’re featuring a true French Grower Champagne. The last time we featured a wine from Salmon, we sold out early in the day.

Of the 19,000 growers in Champagne, only 5000 of them make their own wine. This sparkling wine is called Grower Champagne. Of these 5000, only 28 belong to the exclusive “Club Trésors de Champagne”, aka the Special Club. Today, we’re proud to be featuring a special new release from our friends at Champagne Salmon.

This Champagne is bursting with bubbles, with a lovely hue that is in between straw and peridot with perfect clarity. Here we have a sparkling wine with a fresh and complex nose with hints of green apple, pear, honeysuckle, mint, and beeswax. The fruit is very complex on the palate with fuji apple, jackfruit, and lychee coming to the fore. Bubblegum and ginger flavors give it an interesting twist. Nobody does it quite like the French and this bubbly from the Chaumuzy region in the heart of Champagne hits the nail on the head with a very dry Brut that is crisp and refreshing while exhibiting nuance and complexity. Be decadent and pair this Champagne with miniature lavender cheesecake squares with a raspberry sauce drizzled on top.

The Salmon family legacy spans three generations of winemaking excellence. Their grape growing history harkens back even further. Grandfather Michel was born and raised in Chaumuzy, a small town in the Ardre Valley which is home to some of the finest Pinot Meunier on the planet. In 1958, Michel began his own Champagne production with just 500 bottles of his wine. He sold every bottle of his production door to door.

Today, son Oliver and grandson _Alexandre_run production and operations at the family winey. Their annual production averages about 100,000 bottles per year. When they’re not making wine, they can be found in the skies above Champagne, in the family’s hot air balloons.

“Flying over Champagne in a hot-air balloon, as we like to do, anchors us down to this terroir. We take it to heart to express tradition and exception through the quality and finesse of our productions. Our family passion for traveling in hot-air balloons is akin to that which makes us gather in the vineyards, around the great grape press and in the cellars where we elaborate the cuvées of the house Salmon.”