The history of the Salomon family in Champagne is a long, rich one; dating to 1875 when Albert Salomon, originally from the Savoie, settled in the Marne Valley. Upon moving to the village of Vandières, Albert soon married a winegrower’s daughter, eventually becoming Mayor of the village in 1925. Following the first World War, Albert’s son Georges inherited an additional piece of land, further focusing on grape production and installing the first electric press of the village. At the close of World War II, Georges’ son Adrien, third generation of the Salomon family, would invest further and converted the estate to récoltant-coopérateur. In 1974 it was Adrien’s son Denis, who took the intrepid step forward to begin bottling under Champagne Denis Salomon. At the time the family owned just two hectares. Eventually Denis left the cooperative system in 1984 and the winery became fully récoltant-manipulant. Since 2004 Nicolas Salomon, the 5th generation in the family, has run the estate.
Today there is just 4.9 ha under vine separated into 22 plots across 6 villages – Vandières, Damery, Verneuil, Venteuil, Boursault, Mareuil-le-Port. The vines range in age from 30 – 60 years. Nicolas farms 100% sustainably, implementing HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementale; High Environmental Value) viticultural practices. He has a fiercely traditional approach to winemaking, vinifying each plot separately, pressing whole bunches in a traditional Coquard basket press and utilizing small stainless-steel tanks along with old French oak for fermentation and élevage. Since 2012 he has blocked malolactic fermentation producing fresh, chiseled wines.
