Gaston ChiquetDizy, Grande Vallée

Producer profile
PL One of the original members of the Club Trésors de Champagne, Gaston Chiquet has been bottling champagne since 1919. "The two best producers in Dizy are Gaston Chiquet and Jacquesson, and in fact, the families are related." With 23 hectares of vines, this is "large as grower estates go." "Dizy represents an important part of the estate's vineyard holdings, and it regularly features in Chiquet's top wines such as the Special Club." "The wines are all vinified in tank, as the Chiquets feel that the terroir here already has a lot of body and character, and that wood would make the wines overly heavy." "The excellent NV Tradition is nearly half meunier, giving it a broad, fragrant allure; a portion of this is aged for an additional four or five years and released as the Cuvée de Réserve, which is notably more complex and refined." The Special Club is "consistently the most elegant and sophisticated wine in the cellar." Blanc de Blancs d'Äy is a "terrific" pure terroir-driven chardonnay that's "unusual in an area so highly regarded for pinot noir." TyS 5/10 "With careful attention to sustainable viticulture, meticulous fruit handling and sensitive vinification," Nicolas and his brother Antoine create champagnes "of fruit purity and fine, chalky minerality that represent impressive value for the money." The estate possesses "well-established vineyards on the privileged mid-slopes of Dizy, Hautvillers, Aÿ (including an impressive five hectares of chardonnay), Mareuil-sur-Aÿ", and in another area near Reims. "In villages famed for pinot noir, Gaston Chiquet is unusual in its 50% holdings of chardonnay and 30% of meunier." Sustainable viticulture is practiced. "We want to work more on our vineyard than our wine, making 'vin de terroir' rather than adding oxygen through vinification in oak." "We have very natural winemaking processes. We do not want to change our fruit." Wines are aged in bottles, undergo malolactic fermentation and receive low dosages around 8g. Composite corks are used since 2009 ("the crown caps are the best closures but we cannot sell our wines with them"). Every bottle is labelled with its disgorgement date. "This is very important to us. We have educated our customers and they know not to open a bottle soon after it has been disgorged." The estate's tasting room in Dizy is open for walk-ins. ToS 86 "House style ranges from succulent and creamy with juicy fruit to a more mature, full, malolactic style. None of the cuvées see oak, so the style is purely fruity and fleshy." TT 2019 Champagne catalog page 209.

Tasting notes

Cuvée de Réserve. Disgorged in November 2016. Fully composite cork is a bit slippery to open. This is delicious and interesting! It's fairly dry with appetizing acidity and notes of rye bread. There is a generous and comfortable bitterness and fullness about it. It is fragrant with a distinctive signature. As it warms, a deep dark caramelization comes through, complementing the patinated sterling silver acidity. TT 2017 Champagne catalog page 22 (compare with 2016 and 2019). Purchased at Marty's in autumn 2020 for $75. ⭐⭐⭐

Special Club 2011. Disgorged in December 2017. Gorgeous label with a subtle sparkle in the texture of the paper like metallic car paint. Fully composite cork. Inexhaustible fountain of bubbles. Fresh, pretty, and clean-tasting. Notes of biscuits, puff pastry, light caramel, and graham crackers. TT 2019 Champagne catalog page 211. Purchased at Peak's Beverage in autumn 2020 for $85. ⭐⭐

Special Club 2004. Disgorged in September 2011. Pop! Fully composite cork, thank Log. Even so, the bottom of the cork is concave, not flat. The wine is pristine. Lovely crepitation of the mousse and a clean transparent scent from the mouth of the bottle. Jackpot. The black edge of the Baltic black bread, sunflower seeds, fleeting metallic sensation. There's a wonderful saltiness in the smell. It is more savory and spicy than fruity, or floral, or mineral. The aroma in the empty glass is giddily, head-spinningly gorgeous. That's what male grapevine moths must feel from the vapors of sexual confusion pheromones. With time this wine starts to positively grin. The sea saltiness becomes salty sandy skin. And there's the usual graham biscuits and butterscotch. Purchased at Catherine's in autumn 2020 for $82. ⭐⭐⭐

Special Club 1998. Disgorged January 11 2007. Unique cork with a special silicone disk. The trick worked and the wine is pristine. Deep golden and clear with medium carbonation. Richly developed on the nose: black bread with sunflower seeds, pancake syrup, and a whiff of gunpowder from a spent firecracker. Dry and rather transparent on the palate to start, quite dry even, but of course it unfurls, stretches, and smiles as it warms up. Purchased at Catherine's in autumn 2020 for $70 (seventy!) ⭐⭐⭐

Special Club 2009. Disgorged in September 2016. Fattish cork. Lovely black bread and walnut-pecan notes. A touch of sherry aftertaste in the first sip. Starts lissome, graceful, delectable. Expands into the sweeter and more concentrated aromatics like raisin but remains light-footed. I look forward to having it again. Purchased (a few bottles) at Vintages in spring 2021 for $72. ⭐⭐⭐

Blanc de Blancs 2000 Magnum. Disgorged in May 2009. Impressive-looking large bottle uncorked with deep throaty resonance like an accidentally bumped cello. No sediment, clean-smelling agglomerate cork with a concave bottom. Reserved smell from the lip of the bottle, perhaps with a slight reduction. Foamy mousse, teensiest bubbles, very active effervescence. Super-saturated shiny yellow color like gold leaf. Slightest reduction is detectable in the glass but swiftly overcome by biscuity sweetness. Notably pleasant mousse: salty, sensual, leaving a wonderful sensation on the palate. Brisk acidity, creamy elegant bitterness, and a delightful oily savory edge. Still charged with megajoules of youthful energy this wine offers a palate-mesmerizing patina of good age. Purchased at Catherine's in spring 2021 for $143, quelle chance! ⭐⭐

Blanc de Blancs. Disgorged in May 2016. Perfectly balanced, developed champagne with multi-faceted, engaging flavor. Ample bitterness and a certain je ne sais quoi on the palate. Notes of sweet biscuit, halva, sherry, and greenish savory things like leek. Shivers it's so good! Purchased at Gordon's in spring 2021 for $48. ⭐⭐