Salon is widely recognized as one of the world’s most prestigious champagnes.

Salon makes a mono-varietal Champagne using chardonnay grapes selected from the finest terroir in the Côte des Blancs, that of Mesnil-sur-0ger. Aimé Salon created the brand in 1911. He established a tradition that has continued ever since, which is that their vintage champagne is produced only in the best years.

In order to preserve the acidity, thus ensuring freshness and lengthening its ageability, the wine does not undergo malolactic fermentation. It is degorged and put on the market only after a decade of in-house aging. Drinking a Salon champagne is always a special moment with its mind-blowing tension alongside a rich, textured body supported by a spine of acidity, finishing with a chalky minerality and delicate spice.

Both Salon and Delamotte’s champagnes are made by the same house.

The former brand is an indication—and a guarantee—of the latter’s quality. If Salon elevates any tasting into a memorable eexperience, Delamotte is all about pure, immediate pleasure.

Delamotte is not a mass-produced “commercial” champagne. Despite the competitive price-point, its quality level far surpasses that of the widely-available industrial champagnes. Their Brut, a specialty product at the SAQ, is a blend of 50% chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs, specifically from the crus of Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, and Avise. The blend is rounded out with 30% pinot noir and 20% pinot meunier.

Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve accurately convey the bubbly’s spirit in their 2012 guide: “A discreet estate, Delamotte specializes in fresh, slender and supple aperitif champagnes whose character is marked by a crisp aromatic spectrum with citrus highlights.”

Led by the talented visionary Francis Egly, Egly-Ouriet enjoys the highest possible reputation among Champagne’s récoltants-manipulants, those winemakers who make and sell their champagnes from their own vineyards.

Le Revue du Vin de France’s Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France accords the domain a rare three-star rating, adding that “there is consistency through their whole range without any weakness whatsoever.”

Their vineyard holdings consist of eight hectares planted primarily with pinot noir on the grand cru parcels of Ambonnay, Bouzy and Verzenay, as well as two hectares of pinot meunier on the terroir of Vrigny in the Vallée de la Marne. They vinify in barriques, without malolactic fermentation in order to preserve maximum freshness. Exceptionally, their non-vintage bruts are aged on the lees for at least four years before being degorged. The champagnes millésimés are aged for six years. Egly-Ouriet champagnes have a monumental vinosity supported by great structure and a distinctive, chalky mineral finish.

The Vines Vrigny cuvée is sold as a private import. Five wines are distributed by SAQ: Brut Tradition, Champagne Grand Cru Millésimé, the Extra-Brut VP (which undergoes prolonged aging), Blanc de Noirs Vieilles Vignes and Rosé.