Champagne Vazart-Coquart, established in the 19th century, produce only single cru champagnes from their 11-hectare estate in Champagne's largest Grand Cru village, Chouilly. Being the Côte des Blancs, mainly Chardonnay is grown here, with just 4.5-hectares of Pinot Noir planted in the whole village. Only a handful of independent growers in the region can boast ownership of a Pinot Noir plot in Chouilly: and Vazart-Coquart are one of them. Vazart-Coquart were just the third producer to be awarded the highest level of environmental certification in 2012.

Special Club was created in 1971 by 12 grower-producers, now called the Club Trésors de Champagne. Their mission “to promote Champagne produced from 100% estate-owned grapes that are supremely terroir-expressive.” Members can offer a special cuvée to represent the best of their estate which has to be approved by a panel of winemakers to confirm the high standards of the club and it can only be from a top vintage.

Blanc de Blancs Special Club is Vazart Coquart's prestige cuvée. Produced from only the highest quality grapes and aged for 6-7 years on cork (rather than crown cap), this is an exceptional blend. Production of Blanc de Blancs Special Club is limited to just 20,000 bottles per year. As one of the most senior members of the famous 'Club Trésors' (Special Cub), Vazart-Coquart must produce their best current cuvée in the Special Club embossed bottle shape.

Weather: The 2010 harvest was marked by a very cold winter with heavy frost patches. Weather improved in the spring and early summer months with cool and consistent temperatures. However, August and September experienced weather with plenty of storms and humid conditions complicating the ripening process. The Pinot Noir became a fragile harvest, but the Chardonnays of the Côte des Blancs excelled.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand Cru
Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Ageing: 7 years on the lees
Disgorged: October 2018
Dosage: 3.5 g/l
Drink: Now for 5+ years

Tasting Note: Very fresh with bundles of lemon and lime and beautiful chalky character. The low dosage makes it extra brut but that doesn’t come across as it has so much fruit and ripeness mixed with lees character that builds up to some light custard layering. This feels young and vibrant with an exciting future. This is a good example showing how good one grape variety can be in a region – CH from 2010 is great, a year when PN was affected by rot.