Duménil Special Club: Special Champagne, Special Price
We just received an allocation of 300 bottles of the 2013 Duménil “Special Club” 1er Cru Brut Champagne at a nearly unheard-of price for a wine in the club trésors, $49.99. This group of 28 grape growers, which includes super stars like Paul Bara, Gaston-Chiquet, and Pierre Gimonnet, all agree to put their top wine in the Special Club bottle, but only after it passes a blind tasting jury of members and oenologists. For grower Champagne, I can think of few better guarantees of quality than the Special Club.
Duménil is tucked away on the north slope of the Mountain of Reims in the little 1er cru village of Chigny-les-Roses where they have been growing Champagne for five generations. This sleepy little village is home to star growers like Lassalle as well as the seat of production for the monster brand Armand de Brignac. Their vineyard spreads across the 1er cru vineyards of the north face of the mountain, but, for the Special Club, they rely on their best sites in Rilly-la-Montagne, Ludes, and, of course, Chigny-les-Roses. This wine is composed of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay and sees six years of ageing on the lees. All the pressing is done in a Coquard diagonal press, and every step of the winemaking process is ultra clean and handled in stainless steel. The 2013 vintage was late, small, and very bright, and it suits the super clean style of Duménil perfectly.
I had this wine with Santa Barbara spot prawns, which was a stellar pairing for the racy, concentrated Special Club. The bright red fruit of the top-class Pinot Noir is on display perfectly in this bottle, as well as the good mid-palate concentration one would expect from tête-de-cuvée Champagne. This is not a brioche-toast style, but rather a reductive, precise, and refreshing style that goes super well with shellfish like the spot prawns. It is very, very long on the back end, with great acidity and no shortage of crayeux minerality. No fan of great grower Champagne should miss this deal!
A toast to you.