Champagne J. Lassalle Special Club Brut Premier Cru 2014

Jules Lassalle established this family-owned Champagne house in 1942 in the village of Chigny-les-Roses on the Montagne de Reims. When Jules passed away in 1982, his wife Olga and daughter Chantal took over the estate, upholding his high standards and progressively pushing the domaine to the next level. In 2006, Chantal's daughter Angéline Templier joined as winemaker. Jules was one of the original members of the Club Trésors de Champagne when it was formed, joining in 1979, and the estate has been a founding voice in the grower Champagne movement ever since. Every bottle is riddled by hand, and all cuvées are aged extensively once in bottle. The estate vinifies individual plots separately using the same wooden basket press Jules installed over fifty years ago, and it is one of the rare Champagne producers that allows its wines to complete malolactic fermentation.

The 2014 Special Club is a blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay sourced from vines 50 years and older, aged for 10 years on the lees before disgorgement. Aromas of brioche, almond croissants, lemon, and apple tarts come together in gorgeous harmony, finishing with incredible freshness and elegance, evoking ginger, tangerine, and stony minerality. Lively notes of citrus and stone fruit give way to a luxurious creaminess, with a long, stony finish. This is a wine that rewards the glass and the occasion equally.