KYSELA PERE ET FILS, LTD.

"Champagnes labeled Special Club are grower Champagnes (Recoltant Manipulant) made by 28 artisan wine makers in special vintages and subjected to a tasting panel prior to release. The 2018 vintage offers aromas of dried pear, baked bread, and a hint of smoky minerals. It’s dry and round on the palate with rich orchard fruit, shortbread and hazelnut flavors making for a rather bold style that would pair well with white meat dishes. Closes solidly dry. All Chardonnay from 45-year-old estate vineyards in Chouilly and aged 5 years on the lees in bottle. Dosage 4 g/L; 12.5% alc. - Don WINKLER"

- International Wine Review (Kysela Père et Fils Importer: 30 Years Importing High Quality, High Value Wines ; July 26th 2024), 93 pts

"A cool, elegant and beautifully layered nose features notes of freshly cut apple and pear scents that are trimmed in hints of various citrus and soft yeast wisps. There is fine richness to the bull-bodied flavors where the yeast character displayed by the nose is quite prominent on the palate as well of the lingering finale that is supported by a generous and reasonably refined mousse. This medium dry but not austere effort could be enjoyed now but I would advise holding for another 2 to 5 years in the hopes that more depth will develop. - Allen Meadows"

- Burghound (April 2022), 92 pts

"The Special Club offers notes of brioche and poached pear on the nose and presents a rich, fresh palate of excellent textural richness and complexity. Finishes long and focused with hints of oyster shell and citrus. Overall, an outstanding Special Club from the superb 2012 vintage. This cuvée meets the rigorous production and tasting standards of the Club Trésors; it’s 100% old vine Chardonnay with 6 years sur latte."

- I-WineReview (Champagne: Diversity and Change, January 2020), 95 pts

"Special Club is a group of growers who taste and approve each other's chosen Champagnes before release, giving a wine with this label special cachet. This rich wine, aged for 6 years on its lees, is well textured, with fruit that still shows youth and intense apple and citrus flavors. Drink from 2022. - Roger Voss"

- Wine Enthusiast (December 1st 2019), 94 pts

"Produced from old vines in the Grand Cru vineyards of Chouilly in the Côte des Blancs, this is a beautifully crisp, ripe wine, showing taut fruit and fine, stylish acidity. As a Special Club bottling, it adheres to stringent qualitative guidelines set out by an elite group of growers. Still young, it will be best from 2019. - Roger Voss"

- Wine Enthusiast (May 2017), 94 pts

Go To Roland Champion Champagne Special Club Grand Cru

"This Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs offers a complex mélange of pear and apple with touches of lime citrus and pastry. It’s broad and rich on the palate with emphatic chalky mineral notes that persist on a long, flavorful finish. Spends a minimum of 5 years on the lees."
- International Wine Review (Champagnes & Sparkling Wines for the Holidays: The Best of 2018), 93 pts

Go To Roland Champion Champagne Special Club Grand Cru

"This firm version is enriched by flavors of poached apple, slivered almond and candied kumquat, with an exotic hint of dried papaya riding the lively bead. Chalky finish. Drink now through 2025. 500 cases made. "

- Wine Spectator (web only 2015), 91 pts

Go To Roland Champion Champagne Special Club Grand Cru

"In perfect balance now, this is a great expression of mineral-driven Chardonnay. Its acidity is a vehicule for the crisp flavors of pear and lime, with a hint of ginger. It's still young, so drink it now for its great fruit, or age for four more years."

Wine Enthusiast (December 1st 2012), 92 pts + CELLAR SELECTION

Go To Roland Champion Champagne Special Club Grand Cru

"Well-knit, with a fine texture and a subtle blend of Gala apple, bread dough, pickled ginger, apricot and meringue. Shows good intensity through to the minerally finish. Drink now through 2022. 500 cases made. –AN"

Wine Spectator (November 30, 2012), 92 pts

Go To Roland Champion Champagne Special Club Grand Cru

"Light yellow-gold. Lively, mineral-accented aromas of lemon pith, white flowers and chalk, with a subtle leesy nuance in the background. Racy and precise, offering good cut to its citrus and orchard fruit flavors. A hint of anise comes up with air and carries through the long, stony finish. "

Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (Josh Raynolds, November/December 2012), 90 pts

Go To Roland Champion Champagne Special Club Grand Cru