José MichelMoussy, Côteaux Sud d'Épernay

Producer profile
PL José Michel was a meunier champion and one of Champagne's great meunier specialists. The Michel family has been growing grapes in Champagne since 1857 and making wines since 1955. They have 10 hectares spread over seven villages in Côteaux Sud d'Épernay. The finest wine of the cellar is Special Club, an "elegantly complex blend of equal parts meunier and chardonnay made from the oldest vines of the domaine". The vintage Blanc de Blancs has a "broad build and flinty minerality" characteristic of the deeper topsoils of the region. TyS 5/10 sustainable grower crafting "generous wines" that showcase a "seamless marriage" between meunier and chardonnay. The domaine possesses a "remarkable cellar of old vintages". Some of the vines in Special Club were planted in 1927 and it is aged 6 years on the lees. Cuvée du Père Houdart includes 60% of equal parts 1971, 1975, 1976, 1982, and 1984 reserve wines. "The sheer weight of ancient reserves in this cuvée must be unparalleled" in Champagne. It "exudes the full, expansive complexity that would be expected from such ridiculous maturity and rarity." "It's at once deeply mature and intriguing in its complexity, and yet it springs from the glass with the life and confidence of its young base." It is an "inimitable recipe". ToS 86 Special Club is "lovely, succulent, and fleshy".

Tasting notes

Special Club 2013. A masculine, coolly understated bottle with enameled black label on the dark green glass featuring Special Club's signature bas-relief design. The bottle shape is unique to the Special Club range. A real stunner. Uncorks easily and calmly on one occasion, resonantly on another. Pale neutral yellow. Small bubbles rise in finely traced ribbons. Balanced acidity with a touch of lees but not overly autolytic. Fresh, immensely stylish and appealing wine. A dream gift. Purchased at Federal Wine in spring 2020 for $68. ⭐⭐

Cuvée du Père Houdart. Attractive, unusually shaped bottle, even more amply rounded than Gosset's. Bright canary melon yellow color with persistent fine ribbons of miniature bubbles. Shows depth of age right away with a sweet pastry nose but then surprises the palate with youthfully dry, energetic acidity. Its aroma is lighter in tone than the deeper toastiness of some aged cuvées but no less saturated. Quite dry but not at all angular, this is lithe and elegant. Multi-layered, engaging, and satisfying wine. Enjoyed from Gabriel-Glas Gold mouthblown glass. Purchased at Federal Wine in spring 2020 for $77. ⭐⭐

Meunier. No disgorgement indication. Fresh wide cork with an appetizing acidic smell. Pale-yellow robe with a glossy dense mousse like stiffly beaten egg whites. Sweetly beckoning aroma, good acidity and body, some pleasant bitterness. A touch simple at the start, this wine gives more with time: a tickle of smarties sugar candy, baked apple, even a faint whiff of swimming-pool chlorine. Purchased at Streetcar in summer 2021 for $40.