Marc Hébrart

Special Club Brut 1er Cru Champagne Blend 2018

9.3

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.

— 2 months ago

with Deked1

Deked1, Vin and 16 others liked this

Vanessa

@David T Isn’t that interesting considering it has more than doubled in membership since then and seems to be a successful venture. Do you why the other founders left?

David T

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.

Vanessa

@David T Oh I was truly just curious! It is an interesting fact. 😆 🥂 Thank you for sharing it.

Remy Massin

Special Club Pinot Blanc Champagne Blend 2017

Deborah M

9.2

Friday part 2: Remy Massin is a family-run producer that can trace its roots on the sunny hillsides of Ville sur Acre, all the way back to 1865. Located in the heart of the Cote de Bar region, this is the southernmost edge of Champagne. Their vineyards are predominantly planted to pinot noir, with about 20% dedicated to chardonnay and a scant 5% set aside for the pinot blanc used to make this cuvee.

The 2017 Remy Massin is the only 100% pinot blanc offering to make the Special Club cut. This was a really aromatic champagne. Pinot Blanc definitely gave it a unique twist. Delicious.

Will say it again, I have yet to meet a Special Club that I didn’t love. — 2 years ago

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