Special Club Brut Champagne Blend

2500!! It only seems appropriate that it’s Champagne and why not make it a Special Club from Gaston Chiquet. The 2014 is a Chardonnay driven (38% Pinot Noir) cépage from predominately 1er Cru vineyards in Dizy with a dash of Grand Cru fruit from Aÿ. Popped and poured. The wine pours a bright straw color with a persistent mousse. Moderate intensity. On the nose, tropical fruits (pineapple), lemon, a little raspberry, some brioche and chalky minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with good acid. The notes from the nose are confirmed. There’s beautiful texture with a long, chalky mineral finish. Elegant and superbly balanced. This drinks very well right now but could age for another 5+ years easy. Disgorged December of 2021.

Despite being a non-vintage year, this is delightful. Crisp lemon rind, chalk, and white peach. With homemade gnocchi ... divine

The 2011 Brut Special Club is superb, especially within the context of this very challenging harvest. Brisk, precise and wonderfully nuanced, the 2011 has so much to offer. Bright saline underpinnings and lively acids push a core of citrus fruit forward. The 2011 is a bit nervy and lithe. I wouldn’t push my luck on aging, but boy is it beautiful today. Disgorged: February, 2019. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, November 2020)

A bit too rich but delicious with king crab.

This just captures the essence of Chiquet’s style and the Grande Vallée so well. Beautiful and graceful fruit, deeply concentrated chalky minerality, flashy yet poised. Really everything I want when I open bubbles. NYE in Tahoe 😸 70 CH 30 PN, 9/2016 disgorgement

This is Gaston’s Special Club. What does it mean when a Champagne is labeled as Special Club?

The Special Club, or Club Trésors de Champagne, was originally founded in 1971 by 12 of the oldest families of the Champagne region. Since then, the club has grown to include 29 producers committed to excellence in all aspects of production. This exclusive membership is only open to Recoltant Manipulants (a French designation for a producer of grower Champagne). Champagnes must be produced, bottled and aged at the member’s estate. The Special Club Champagnes represent the tête de cuvée (a premier bottling often carrying a vintage date) selection for each member.

Special Club Champagne designation means they are only made in outstanding vintages from grapes harvested from member’s own vineyards. Each producer must submit his wine to two blind tastings panels of esteemed oenologists and wine professionals. The still wines (vins clairs) are tasted first and if approved may be bottled in the uniquely-shaped Special Club bottle before undergoing secondary fermentation.

After a minimum of three years aging on lees, the wines are tasted again for final approval.

On the nose; green apple, bruised Bosc pear, touch of golden apple, pineapple, cream soda, light citrus, sea shells/spray, brioche, gray volcanic minerals, soft chalk, spring flowers & citrus blossoms.

The palate is soft, delicate, subtly rich with micro oxygenation. Green apple, bruised Bosc pear, bruised golden apple, pineapple, cream soda, light citrus, sea shells/spray, brioche, gray volcanic minerals that have teeth and dig deep into your palate, soft powdery chalk, spring flowers & citrus blossoms.

Photos of; the house of Gaston Chiquet, cellar-hand hand riddling bottles, Owner/Winemaker Nicolas Chiquet inspecting bottles and one of their Grand Cru Vineyard.

Producer notes...Nicolas farms 23 heactares in the Valle de la Marne in the villages of Ay, Dizy, Hautvillers and Mareuil-sur-Ay. All of the fruit (including that which is used in the non-vintage cuvee) comes from premier and grand cru grapes. Nicolas does not employ any oak aging at Gaston Chiquet; he believes that concentration, fruit maturity and malolactic fermentation impart enough body and texture to make aging in barrel unnecessary.

The vineyards are planted to equal (forty percent each) parts chardonnay, pinot meunier and twenty percent are planted to pinot noir. Gaston-Chiquet. He also produces a vintage dated chardonnay from 5 parcels on the western side of the grand cru village of Ay. Usually recognized as a grand cru village for pinot noir, these vines of chardonnay were planted in Ay in the 1930s.

In 1919, two brothers, Fernand and Gaston Chiquet winemakers came together to create their house Chiquet Brothers. They were ‘pioneers’ in Champagne, the very first winemakers to take the initiative, bold at the time, to keep their grapes, turn them into Champagne and sell their own wine. Nicolas Chiquet planted his first vines in 1746, and since then eight generations have have managed their house. Gaston Chiquet registered the company in 1935 and expanded the property with land in Aÿ, Cumières and Hautvillers. Gaston Chiquet is best known for making the only blanc de blancs from the Pinot village of Aÿ. Aÿ was the big name in the area long before wines became sparkling, and many were the kings and popes who counted Vin d’Aÿ as their favorite wine. The vineyards slope down steeply to the village by the Marne River, and the best locations are just over the town, sheltered from the wind and with maximum exposure to the sun.

This is the "poor man's Clos des Groisse" alright. Stellar vintage that displays power without being forceful, delicacy without shyness. Bright aromatics, green apple and slightly tart stone fruit flavors. Chalky mouthfeel and piercing minerality, slightly creamy mid palate. Great weight without feeling heavy. The 2009 required more dosage than is typical, but not at the expense of raciness or precision- this is still a more austere expression in spite of the higher sugar. Exceptional.

Incredible purity, balancing finesse with a healthy zing of acidity and some wood too.

Medium gold; medium plus intensity aromas of dried apple, pear, pastry dough, brioche, almond paste; fully developed; off dry, high acid, medium alcohol, medium body, delicate mousse, pronounced flavors of apple strudel, brioche, almond paste; long finish

For NYE, a few friends and I decided to throw a private party in a historic building downtown that was converted into a private residence decades ago. Three levels, three DJ’s, live percussion on the main floor. It was bananas. I brought this bottle to ring in the New Year and while the environment wasn’t the best for contemplation, the wine was delicious and left an impression none-the-less. The nose indicated a warmer vintage with powerful aromas of honeyed fruit, brown butter, brioche and torchon. On the palate it was rich and satisfying; the finish lingered for well over a minute. Very good indeed. I would enjoy drinking this again in slightly less distracting circumstances. Happy New Year to the Delectable community!