Salmon’s ‘Special Club’ Rose de Saignee 2013 Zero Dosage is 100% Meunier from a single old-vine parcel (La Croute sous la Mutte) that has always been renowned for the excellence of the fruit.

The common method for producing Rose wines is the addition of still red wine for colouring. The Saignee ('to bleed') method involves allowing the skins to macerate with the juice to achieve the colour desired - a much more hands-on approach and does require greater effort and precision. Alexandre Salmon is not afraid of deeply coloured cuvees and on one visit to the estate showed me a possible Special Club rose release that was rejected by the Club - as they they considered the wine to be too darkly coloured for a champagne!

Special Club Rose's are extremely rare with only Paul Bara and Cedric Mousse having had other releases to my knowledge.(Interesting to note that Cedric Mousse who is also a Meunier genius chooses the saignee method and minimal dosage to best express the variety and region).

Deep dark crimson in colour with notes of dark berries, cherry and spice on the nose. Richly textured and succulent on the palate, the fruit is so ripe and juicy it simply requires no dosage. (tasted blind you would never guess that it was zero-dosage) Multi-layered, hedonistic and quite complex, it opens in the glass with more and more flavours unfolding and revealing themselves. Salmon are one of the leading exponents of Meunier and this is a great example of what heights champagne's indigenous variety can achieve. Still very youthful, a sheer delight at present but with so much more to come! A Rose not like any other, a standout release and I can't recall the last time that a champagne gave me so much pleasure!

Dosage Brut Nature 0 g/l , Disgorged 16/10/2020