While most of you don’t know me by name, you’re likely familiar with the many Champagnes I’ve waxed rhapsodic about over the years, and this rabid desire has led to some extraordinary discoveries that I’ll be sharing with our subscribers. Tonight marks the grand debut of what will be an ongoing series dedicated to the most thrilling and excruciatingly allocated sparkling wines around the globe. My goal is simple: to actively sniff around like a truffle hog and keep my ear to the ground for rare Champagne exclusives and/or highly allocated sparkling wines that have to be pried out of an iron grip.
And what a way to start this series with Marc Hébrart! One of the OGs of the rarefied 28-member Club Trésors de Champagne, they have just released a stunning 2015 Spécial Club and we’re the only ones with early access. That’s right, only here, tonight, are you able to acquire this legendary trophy before the rest of the eagerly awaiting world. A fabled bottle of Hébrart’s “Spécial Club” is ruthlessly vetted Vintage Champagne at its absolute finest. Quite simply, they are blue-chip, recherché collectibles. Up to six bottles per person and two gets you free shipping. Cheers!
Those who keep their ears to the ground need no further convincing because a distinctively shaped bottle of “Spécial Club” is among the most sought-after Champagnes on earth. Out of several thousand producers, only 28 have been appointed to this exclusive circle of esteemed Champagne growers yet only a few, Marc Hébrart included, can count themselves a founding member. Still, one must endure a ruthless vetting process in order to put their wine in today’s trademarked, 18th-century-inspired “Spécial Club” bottle.
The “Spécial Club,” known as Club Trésors de Champagne since 1999 is one of the most rigorous wine organizations on earth. Other than being one of the 28 qualifying members—which happens only through private invitation—a series of fortunate events must occur should you want to display “Spécial Club” on your label. It must first be a Vintage Champagne from a year deemed worthy by the committee, and then the wine in question must pass two blind tastings by a nonpartisan panel of enologists and winemakers—once as a base wine and then three years later, as a fully sparkling wine. Then, and only then, can you use today’s specially designed squat-shaped bottle, which is trademarked exclusively for the club’s use.
When Champagne luminary Peter Liem recently called “Marc Hébrart “one of the finest estates in the Grande Vallée,” that meant he was putting them up against megastars Billecart-Salmon, Philipponnat, Dom Pérignon, Georges Laval, Bollinger—essentially, names that grace every Michelin-star wine list. Not only do I agree with Peter Liem, but I’m also prepared to go a step further by placing Marc Hébrart among the finest estates in all of Champagne. Over the last decade, they’ve been downright fascinating to watch as they’ve released multiple bottles that hold a spot in my all-time favorites list. Today’s 2015 joins those elite ranks.
Today’s 2015 is a 60/40 Pinot Noir-Chardonnay blend that only comes from mature, sustainably farmed, estate-owned parcels in the Premier Cru of Mareuil-sur-Aÿ and the Grand Crus of Aÿ, Oiry, and Chouilly. Don’t mistake Mareuil-sur-Aÿ as the “underperformer” here—this 1er Cru village ranks at the top of the 40-something that exist. Many have likened it to an under-the-radar Grand Cru, a notion I am fully on board with.
After alcoholic and malolactic fermentation in stainless steel, the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were blended together and transferred into bottle, where it then aged in Hébrart’s cellar for just shy of four years. This batch was disgorged in July of 2019 and was allowed further rest until the beginning of this year.
If you want the full effect of a Spécial Club, rummage around your stemware collection and pull out a flared tulip, an all-purpose stem, or a larger Burgundy glass. I personally opt for the latter because as much of a bubble fiend I am, there’s something incredibly exquisite and revealing about a Champagne that has lost some carbonation, especially at a warmer temperature (~55 degrees). To me, they drink finer and more sublime, but you do run the risk of discovering flaws that the CO2 was previously concealing. This is one of the major indicators I use for determining the quality of luxury Champagne: Is it still a world-class wine after shedding some bubbles? The answer for Hébrart’s 2015 Spécial Club is an unequivocal yes. There’s not one flaw to be found in this wine. It’s all about extreme purity, fathomless creamy layers, and Champagne’s unmistakable chalky terroir imprint. After it has settled in the glass, prepare yourself for an aromatic orchestra: Toasted brioche, ripe yellow apples, grilled peach, butter-roasted nuts, pineapple, salt-preserved Meyer lemon, and a steady wave of crushed stones, oyster shell, honeysuckle, and acacia. Each long-lasting sip is exploding with profundity and a rich yet laser-sharp focus that so perfectly encapsulates the 2015 vintage. This is an elite wine, a Vintage Champagne that illustrates the beautiful marriage of finesse and power. It’s to be enjoyed now and over the next decade-plus. Cheers!
