Village Winery Club
Marc Hébrart
Special Club Brut 1er Cru Champagne Blend 2018
In no way did I mean to lessen SC bottling’s if it was interpreted that way. There are producer ego driven personalities intermixing here and that accounts for the fair amount of change. I believe there are still 29 SC producers.
Kumeu River
Kumeu Village Hand Harvested Chardonnay 2022
Great QPR — 5 months ago
Domaine Dujac
Morey Saint Denis Pinot Noir 2009
Found this simple yet apt note online: Pure, incredibly densely concentrated with crystalline fruit, and silky, satin-like tannins. This is wonderfully long, and, although a mere village wine, carries the calibre of its domaine on full display. — a day ago
Paul Bara
Special Club Brut Grand Cru Champagne 2002
Truly spectacular! — a month ago
Domaine Mugneret-Gibourg
Vosne-Romanée Pinot Noir 2021
One of the best village wines in the biz, and 2021 is already drinking beautifully, quite different than the richer 19 and 20’s, but soft, pure and seductively elegant with amazing transparency and detail, and a liquid velvet texture. Last sips were the best. Love these wines! — 14 days ago
Paul Bara
Spécial Club Grand Cru Brut Rosé Champagne 2018
Very young. Still somewhat unstructured and tannins that need to mellow. But good potential. — 4 months ago
Brooke liked this
Vanessa
This is the 2018 Marc Hébrart Brut ‘Special Club’ – a beautiful bottle of vintage bubbles hailing from a collection of premier and grand cru sites in the Marne and Montagne de Reims regions of Champagne, France.
When you see “Special Club” on the label of a bottle with this distinctive shape, you’re dealing with essentially a prestige cuvée of a grower-producer who’s a member of the “Club Trésors.”
Marc Hébrart joined the Club Trésors in 1985, which is an association of quality-minded grower-producers. Grower-producers operate differently than the big champagne houses (e.g., Veuve-Clicquot) in that they are smaller-scale vignerons who own the entire production process from the vineyard to the winery and cellar.
They have helped raise awareness and appreciation of artisanal champagne wines that speak to a sense of place and personality, unobscured by extensive, widespread blending.
To achieve the status of “Special Club” a wine must undergo a rigorous application process and meet minimum quality metrics culminating with in two blind tasting panels – the first tasting evaluates the base wine after the first fermentation; the second and final tasting occurs after a minimum of three years aging sur lie.
From our studies we’ve learned the 2018 vintage bore above-average fruit; the warm and dry summer paved the way for a riper expression in an otherwise marginal climate. This wine is made with 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay.
The bouquet has a medium (+) intensity of yellow and green apple, lemon zest, white peach, gardenia, almond biscotti, nougat, pastry, biscuit, and toast notes. The palate is creamy with vibrant acidity, adding lift, a fine-beaded, persistent mousse and long, elegant finish.
— a month ago