An enormously complex and rich wine that almost defies description. Golden apples raisins and pears; bread cream vanilla honey and nuts. The list goes on and on. Full and rich; the mousse is extremely fine and creamy-textured in the mouth. Drinking beautifully now it will probably hold another ten years or more. Even better than a bottle reviewed last year.

A wonderful mature Champagne offering toast mushroom honey and citrus aromas and flavors that evolve into a long walnut aftertaste. Its richness is offset by bracing acidity yet not quite fully integrated. Full-bodied and aristocratic. Drink now through 2005. –BS

Like many ‘85s today in 750 ml, the wine is fully mature with plenty of yeast, baked bread and apple compote aromas that are trimmed in a toasty character. The supporting mousse has diminished considerably relative to what it was like when this was young and this has become more like wine with a hint of spritz than vigorous Champagne yet this allows the incredible complexity of a fully mature Salon to emerge in full glory. I quite like this and while it’s not quite the equal of its more youthful counterparts, there is much to admire here. Note that I would be drinking this up unless your taste runs to fully post-mature aromas and flavors. now