The Barrel Club

Paul Bara

Special Club Brut Grand Cru Champagne 2016

Pale lemon in color.

Strong nose and medium in body with medium plus acidity.

Dry on the palate with nice complexity, and medium plus size bubbles.

Showing limes, lemons, green apples, light earth, yeast, herbs, light brioche and minerals.

Nice finish with limes and light marzipan notes.

This is a very tasty 10 year old Champagne. Rich and fresh tasting. Complex and interesting.

Still very young, and needs 5 years in the bottle to mature properly. Will continue to age nicely in the next 10 to 15 years.

Easy drinking, nicely balanced and better after 45 minutes of airtime.

Good by itself or with food.

A blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay. Aged for 6 years on the lees. Disgorged in 2023.

12.5% alcohol by volume.

91 points.

$130.
— 4 days ago

Jay, Dave and 11 others liked this

Henri Goutorbe

Special Club Grand Cru Brut Champagne Blend 2006

Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of an hour. The 2006 Special Club pours a straw color with a persistent mousse. On the nose, the wine is developing with green apple, raspberry, honey, and minerals. On the palate, the wine is dry with medium+ acid. Confirming the notes from the nose. The finish is long and layered. This is supremely balanced and locked in, showing so well. Plenty of life but a treat to enjoy right now. Through 2041.
— 2 months ago

Lyle, Stephen and 7 others liked this
Lyle Fass

Lyle Fass Influencer Badge Premium Badge

06 is a great vintage

Peter Lauer

Barrel X Saar Feinherb Riesling 2025

Called Lauer. Feinherb tell. The RS is so far down under the pesto piquancy. - at Terroir — 2 months ago

Austin, Tom and 1 other liked this

American Vintners

Barrel Heist Cabernet Sauvignon 2013

Quite good and cheap at Trader Joe’s — 4 months ago

Beringer Bros.

Bourbon Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon 1874

Amazing wine! Smooth jammy finish with just the right hint of bourbon. Definitely adding to my list of favs. — 7 months ago

Pierre Gimonnet & Fils

Special Club Grands Terroirs de Chardonnay 2006

Fabulous vintage Champagne, tight bubbles, moderately rich but super long finish, excellent!! — a year ago

Jim Powers
with Jim
Vin, Dave and 8 others liked this
Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego

Scott@Mister A’s-San Diego Premium Badge

Underrated producer.

Marc Hébrart

Special Club Brut 1er Cru Champagne Blend 2019

😍 Marc Hébrart’s Special Club 2019 is one of those bottles that reminds us why we fell in love with “grower champagne” in the first place.
 
💯 It’s generous without being heavy. Structured without being stern. A masterclass in elegance, energy, and purity, not to mention it’s utterly delicious even in relative youth.

🍇 Pinot Noir plays a lead role in this particular cuvée joined by Chardonnay for extra lift and brightness. The grapes hail from the Premier and Grand Cru villages of Louvois, Chouilly, & Mareuil-sur-Ay.

⚖️ After 36 months aging sur lie, this wine was disgorged and bottled with a “brut” dosage, which melds a soft energy into its steely profile, creating balance and tension.
 
— 24 days ago

Deked1
with Deked1
Deked1, Paul and 16 others liked this
Paul K

Paul K

Yum! I think we had the ‘18? Been too long! Tell @J Greene he needs to organize something!
Vanessa

Vanessa

@Paul K It has been too long, indeed!! We would love to schedule a reunion. Let’s make it happen!🥂🍾

J. Lassalle

Special Club Brut 1er Cru Champagne Blend

John Howard
9.3

One of the best 1er champs for the $. Best to get off the wagon too. — 4 months ago

Daniel, Ray and 11 others liked this

Paul Bara

Spécial Club Grand Cru Brut Rosé Champagne 2018

Very young. Still somewhat unstructured and tannins that need to mellow. But good potential. — 2 years ago

Brooke liked this

Launois Père et Fils

Special Club Brut Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Champagne Chardonnay 2008

Green apple and pear, salted lemon, baguette, med acid ✨ — 3 years ago

Shay, Severn and 5 others liked this

Beringer Bros.

Bourbon Barrel Aged Chardonnay 1875

Had this 3yrs ago from publix. Just bought again as bogo
Just as good as last time.
— 9 days ago

Pierre Gimonnet & Fils

Millésime de Collection Special Club Chardonnay Champagne 2002

Shay A
9.5

94-95

A grower champagne I always enjoy, but I’ve not had their special club offering with this much age before. I’ve been missing out! A stunner!

54% Cramant, 31% Chouilly (both Grand Crus), with 15% Cuis (Premier Cru); all old vines. Disgorged July 2012; 6g/l dosage

This may be an example of hitting lightening in a bottle, but this caught me (and others I was with) totally off-guard at how youthful it was…and more importantly, how unbelievably good it was. Channeling an oxidative flair at this point in its evolution, this scratched the itch for creamy, powerful, golden champagne. Autolysis on full display (in the best way) with lemon scone, honey roasted cashews, spiced pears aromatically. Honeyed graham crackers, lemon cream, Biscotti cookie, kiss of ginger and plenty of chalky limestone grit toward the finish (but the sweet autolysis lengthens it out beautifully). For me, this tasted like this was the exact right day to catch this wine at peak.

I wish I had a case of these.
— 3 months ago

Jay, James and 19 others liked this
Norman

Norman Premium Badge

Love great days

Apothic

Inferno Red Blend

Smooth. Let it breathe, sweet, nice aroma, vanilla, black cherry, like bourbon barrel aged, similar to copper & thief red blend. Good by itself, good with cheese and dried cranberries. — 3 years ago

Bodegas Muga

Rioja Barrel Fermented Viura Blend 2021

Pale straw color.
Aromas of white peach, nuts.
Dry. Flavors of peach, white pepper, saline.

Intensity: 4/5
Complexity: 2/5
Balance: 5/5
Finish: 4/5
— 3 years ago

Peggy liked this