The "Club de Viticuleurs Champenois" began in 1971 as a way for the smaller growers to join forces in order to market their wines. With over a dozen different producers working together they felt they could more easily compete with the larger Champagne houses. They created the "Special Club" bottling, with the idea that it would always be the best of what each producer had to offer and would always be presented in the same oddly shaped bottle.
"The 2004 Brut Special Club bursts from the glass with terrific energy and sheer class. It captures all of the potential of a year that was especially favorable to Chardonnay. There is plenty of nuance and detail in the glass. The 2004 shows off tons of personality and sheer class. Mint, sage and eucalyptus are some of the notes that wrap around the finish. This is first-class all the way. It is also one of the very finest wines I have ever tasted from Chiquet. The 2004 Special Club is 70% Chardonnay (from Dizy), 30% Pinot Noir (from Ay and Hautvillers). Dosage is 8 grams per liter. Disgorged July 2011. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019."
94 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Nov 2011
"(70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir; disgorged July, 2011): Bright yellow. High-pitched aromas of citrus fruits, white flowers, ginger and toasty lees. Bright and energetic in the mouth, offering juicy orange and apple flavours and a touch of honey. Shows very good energy and cut on the spicy, clinging finish."
92 points, International Wine Cellar, Oct/Nov 2011
"Disgorged July 2011. I’d always understood this to be the inverse of the vintage wine; in fact it is indeed the same Pinot Noir but only some of the same Chardonnay. The wine is already beautiful but it’s poised to take a leap forward; the length is dramatic, and along with the white flower and blatant chalk comes a blanket of verbena over a savoury vinosity almost like oatmeal, all swinging off a giddy fragrance."
2/3 stars, Terry Thiese, catalogue 2012
