Technically, the "Special Club" consists of a handful, the top names, of Grower-Producer Champagnes. It's a club one must be invited into, and even then your product is subject to blind evaluation and possible rejection!
And though only the producers have rigorous entry requirements, the buyers of their champagnes make up an equally small percentage of champagne drinkers. This is not by chance, it's due to the limited supply of Special Club champagnes.
Are Special Club champagnes for you?
Well, let's see... the average price of a Special Club champagne is now over $80. Sometimes WELL over.
But here's the upside - the price of a comparable Champagne from one of the big houses (who buy grapes from these same growers) is close to double!
your price will double were you to choose a Grande Marques champagne from one of the big houses. But the reason to purchase one of these special wines goes far beyond price. These are Champagnes that fly in the face of the big houses, whose raison d'etre is to craft a house style every year, regardless of what nature has delivered. They are all about the art and science of blending.
And while this is an enviable pursuit, the Special Club wines emphasize individual vintage variation and their sense of soil and place. They amplify the higher quality of grapes from individual lots.
The art of blending has made the house style possible, but it also means the individual bottlings may not achieve their highest possible expression, were sufficient quantities of grapes available.
Factoids on Champagne’s "Special Club"
- The Club was created in 1971
- To be invited into the club, a candidate must be a Grower-Producer (look for the term 'Récoltant-Manipulant' on the back label).
- Their goal is to promote the expression of the terroir in their unique regions.
- The Special Club bottling represents each member's best offering. Wines are not submitted if the grower feels they are not up to standard in a given year.
- Club wines must be aged in bottle for at least 3 years.
- Members serve as a "jury of peers", ensuring that every Special Club bottle sold is of exceptional quality. This is a high standard to surpass, as each wine represents the club's judgment and taste. Only exceptional wines are allowed to be labeled.
- The Special Club is also known as Club Trésors de Champagne (Treasures of Champagne)
- The wines are all put in the same unique bottle, regardless of producer, but each wine maker gets to put their own label on the bottle (see image)
- The wines all taste different because they come from different villages/grape blends.
- But each one is deemed to be extraordinary!
