Every Friday The no1 Champagne expert in the world will taste new & old Champagne s to give You a tip or two for the weekend. This week Richard Juhlin tasted new champagnes from Special Club. [read the full champagne story]
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
As the first association of winegrowers created in Champagne, the Club Trésors advocates a high quality approach to winegrowing.
Club Trésors de Champagne
Since 1971, the Club Trésors de Champagne has brought together Champagne winegrowers who share values, in order to progress together in facing the challenges of tomorrow. For these winegrowers, united around the preservation of their terroirs and of their know-how, Champagne is a story that is told through each bottle. The cuvée Spécial Club, a cuvée of excellence, is the reflection of their particularity, their personalities, and their terroirs.
[read more on Club Trésors de Champagne]
Paul Bara
★★★★
Paul Bara is allready a legend in Champagne. He took over the firm as a teenager sixty years ago and remembered every vintage in perfect detail. He belonged to the sixth generation to run the company since it was founded in 1833. Many major Champagne houses have approached Bara over the years to try to buy the thirty exceptional locations he controls from 11 hectares in the village. The average age of the vines is around thirty-five years, but those that produce the vintage wines are over forty. With new people at the helm Bara is still the most quality-obsessed grower in Bouzy. Only the first pressing is used, the wines are aged for at least four years in the cold cellar, and the yield is maintained at the lowest possible level. Despite the traditional methods, Bara’s wines have a very elegant fruitiness, which is unique in Bouzy. It is incomprehensible that he used to be best known for his red wine when his Champagne is of world class. Todays winemaker is Christian Forget.
‘His ’59 was hailed as the best Blanc de Noirs at the Millennium Tasting. The wines are still great. Comtesse Marie de France is the gem to search for. ‘
Richard Juhlin
Fresnet-Juillet
★★★
The firm was started in 1952 by Gerard Fresnet, once the Mayor of Verzy. The vineyards cover nine hectares which are planted with 75 per cent Pinot Noir and 25 per cent Chardonnay. Throughout the vintage wines there is a tone of the most refined passionfruit stylishly backed up by stony, distinctive minerals. Light and graceful so far with fantastic length. Storage should make it fit its suit handsomely.
Vazart-Coquart
★★★
Jean-Pierre Vazart-Coquart who runs the company since 2006 is rightly proud about what he achieves, and the firm has many fans. The winemaker is innovative and ready to experiment with their own ideas. The family is often arranging exciting tastings, serving the same wines but with varying bottle sizes, different sugar content, or date of disgorging. Vazart-Coquart use plenty of old reserve wines in their champagnes. They also have a solera champagne previous called Foie Gras (goose liver) which contains wines from around twenty old vintages and which should suit the fat delicacy admirably. I used to be quite critical towards the rather rustic style, but today all their champagnes are fresh, elegant, dry and ageworthy thanks to the skillful Jean-Pierre, today the president of Club Tresor.
‘Today one of the best examples of Grand Cru Chouilly.’
Richard Juhlin
