A. Margaine Special Club 2018

Since 1796, the Margaine family has been cultivating the viticultural tradition of Villers-Marmery, in the heart of the Montagne de Reims. In this land of Pinot Noir, the exposure of the slope shifts in this small village, and with it the soil profile — creating the rare conditions where Chardonnay takes the lead and expresses itself in a fine, vinous and distinctive manner. Viticulture has evolved enormously here in recent years, and the family’s 10 hectares are now farmed organically, with each parcel’s soil worked according to its individual needs. Added to this is the notably high average age of the vines.

The Blanc de Blancs — 100% Chardonnay — Spécial Club 2018 is a Premier Cru Villers-Marmery Champagne that partially ages in barrel (30%) and remains on lees for more than six years. All A. Margaine Champagnes undergo no malolactic fermentation.

The A. Margaine Spécial Club 2018 is a rare gem within Champagne — not only for its refined profile, but also for belonging to the exclusive group of “Special Club” cuvées (Club Trésors de Champagne), a seal of excellence reserved for the finest wines from the region’s top grower-producers. Sourced from Chardonnay vines in Villers-Marmery, an atypical terroir of the Montagne de Reims, this cuvée captures with purity the balance between finesse, structure and mineral tension. A vigneron who produces only elegant, polished Champagnes.

What is the “Special Club”?

Created in 1971 by a group of independent vignerons, the Club Trésors de Champagne established the concept of the “Special Club” with the aim of promoting exceptional vintage Champagnes made exclusively from estate-grown grapes and bottled at the domaine.

To carry the “Special Club” designation, a Champagne must:

• Be made from a single harvest year (Millésime)
• Be approved in two blind tastings by a technical panel (before and after the second fermentation)
• Be bottled in the Club’s exclusive, proprietary glass bottle

Historic producers who have been part of the Special Club include:

• Jacques Selosse
• Pierre Gimonnet
• Paul Bara
• Marc Hébrart
• Rémy Massin
• A. Margaine

Food Pairing

• Scallop carpaccio with lime
• Grilled prawns with herb butter
• Game birds (quail, pheasant)
• Soft-ripened cheeses (Brillat-Savarin, truffled Camembert)
• Refined Japanese or Nordic cuisine

Critics

“The vintage Blanc de Blancs [the ‘Spécial Club’ bottling] from this grower based in the little-known village of Villers-Marmery at the far eastern end of the Montagne de Reims is refined, incisive, and vinous, built on understated lemon fruit, and acquiring tantalizing walnut-butter notes with time.”
— Andrew Jefford, The New France