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We generally only get access to Vilmart once or twice a year with many wines selling out before we can even get them landed and into stock, so please order now from this pre-sale offer. The prices are very sharp. It is due to arrive in a few months.
"Vilmart & Cie. is not only one of the greatest grower-estates in Champagne, but one of the finest champagne producers of any type in the region.”
- Peter Liem, Champagne Guide
Under the guidance of Laurent Champs, Vilmart has become the most stylishly self-assured of all the grower-champagnes. The wines are dramatically polished. They are rich and vinous, yet seductively fragrant and intense across the entire range. They are hard not to like, and as such, they are crowd-pleasers, but they are above-all impressively serious champagnes.
The entry-level Grande Reserve and the Grand Cellier make complete nonsense of all the grandes marques at that price level. To those who are used to being served Cliquot, they are a jaw-dropping initiation into a new world.
At the high end, the vintage wines: the Grand Cellier d’Or, the Emotion Rose, Grand Cellier 'Rubis', the incomparable flagship, the Coeur de Cuvee and new super-cuvee, the blanc de blancs 'Blanches Voies 2011, are all delightfully fine, yet opulently ostentatious at the same time. They are amazing and unforgettable wines.
If you only have room for one grower-champagne, or indeed just one champagne at all in your cellar, it should be Vilmart.
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Vilmart Grande Reserve 1er Cru - $45 per bottle
91 points Vinous "Once again, the NV Brut Grande Réserve is a terrific introduction to the Vilmart range. The aromatics alone are captivating. Poire Williams, kirsch and exotic white flowers lend striking aromatic intensity. Medium in body and finely cut, the Grande Réserve is perhaps a bit more austere than most Vilmart Champagnes, but it compensates for that with striking precision and overall persistence. This edition is especially fine."
Vilmart Grand Cellier 1er Cru - $55 per bottle
93 points Vinous "The NV Brut Grand Cellier is fabulous. Rich, ample and creamy, the Grand Cellier is so alluring from the very first taste. All the Vilmart signatures - most notably uncommon elegance - come through loud and clear. Baked apple tart, pear, spice and a hint off butter add nuance, but it is the wine's overall feel that impresses most. Readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off this seductive Champagne from Vilmart."
Vilmart Rubis (Rose) - $55 per bottle
92 points Vinous "The NV Brut Rosé Cuvée Rubis is powerful, deep and surprisingly structured. The Cuvée Rubis has more than enough sheer density to drink well at the dinner table. Blood orange, crushed raspberry, mint, chalk and dried rose petal all run through this deep, layered Rosé from Laurent Champs and Vilmart."
Vilmart Grand Cellier d'Or 2015 - $85 per bottle
93 points Wine Advocate "Disgorged in June 2019 with seven grams per liter dosage, the 2015 Brut Premier Cru Grand Cellier d'Or reveals inviting aromas of golden orchard fruit, pear, freshly baked bread and citrus zest. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and enveloping, with racy acids, chalky extract and a long, penetrating finish, the vintage has imparted additional generosity, but the house's chiseled, serious style remains very much intact.
Vilmart Grand Cellier d'Or 2016 - $79 per bottle
93+ points John Gilman
The 2016 Vilmart & Cie “Grand Cellier d’Or” is composed of its traditional cépages of eighty percent pinot noir and twenty percent chardonnay. The vins clairs are barrel-fermented and do not undergo malo for this bottling, which was aged three years sur latte prior to its disgorgement in July of 2020 and was finished with a dosage of seven grams per liter. The wine offers up a lovely, youthful and very refined bouquet of fresh apricot, passion fruit, warm bread, a complex base of soil, a touch of hazelnut, a touch of buttery oak and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is crisp, full-bodied, focused and youthfully complex, with a lovely core, fine focus and cut, elegant mousse and a long, poised and very promising finish. This is still quite youthful and deserves some time in the cellar to relax a bit more structurally. It will drink long and beautifully once it is really ready to go. (Drink between 2024-2055)
Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee 2011 - $135 per bottle
93 points Vinous "The 2011 Brut Coeur de Cuvée has put on a bit of weight since I tasted it last, and that is not a bad thing at all for a year in which the wines are a bit light. Tangerine oil, marzipan, pastry, lemon confit and a touch of sweet oak give the 2011 tons of complexity. Beautifully perfumed and nuanced, the 2011 is once again positively stellar. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: March, 2018. (Drink between 2019-2026)"
Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee 2013 - $129 per bottle
96 points Vinous "The 2013 Brut Coeur de Cuvée is fabulous, not to mention and absolute must-buy for Vilmart fans. All of the tension of the late harvest comes through in a Champagne that dazzles with tension and energy. Bright acids drive a core of Chardonnay fruit. Citrus, white pepper, white flowers and crushed rocks abound. Readers should be in no rush to open the 2013, it"s a wine for the cellar. Disgorged: December, 2020. (Drink between 2023-2033)"
Vilmart Coeur de Cuvee 2014 - $129 per bottle
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Vilmart Rose Grand Cellier Rubis 2011 - $130 per bottle
93 points Wine Advocate "From 55-year-old vines and aged for ten months in small oak barrels (no malolactic fermentation done), the rare 2011 Premier Cru Grand Cellier Rubis displays an orange shimmering rosé color and has a deep, rich and complex bouquet with toasty brioche and nutty notes intermixed with lovely red fruit and floral aromas. Full-bodied but pure, fresh and very elegant on the palate, with concentrated fruit and good structure, this is a highly delicate but persistent cuvée of 60% Pinot Noir (saignée) and 40% Chardonnay. It is complex and long on the vinous finish. This sample was disgorged in April 2016. Tasted in April 2018.
Vilmart Rose Emotion 2012 - $150 per bottle
95 points Vinous "The 2012 Brut Rosé Emotion (formerly Grand Cellier Rubis) is a total stunner. All of the richness and radiance of the year comes through in a Champagne that offers an uncommon marriage of elegance and power. In the glass, the 2012 is rich and deep, with a real sense of vertical intensity. It is far from an easygoing, aperitif-style wine. The Emotion is a powerful Rosé that will offer its finest drinking at the dinner table. It is a blend of 60% saignée Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay. I loved it. Disgorged: January, 2018. (Drink between 2020-2028)"
Vilmart Rose Emotion 2013 - $150 per bottle
No Ratings yet
Vilmart Les Blanches Voies 2011 - $295 per bottle
96 points Wine Advocate "Offering up aromas of crisp yellow orchard fruit, dried white flowers, honeycomb and blanched almonds, the 2011 Extra-Brut Blanc de Blancs Les Blanches Voies is full-bodied, broad and muscular, with striking concentration, racy acids and chalky structuring extract. Chiseled and mineral, it's a terrific wine. Laurent Champs has always had good things to say about the 2011 vintage chez Vilmart, and a taste of this wine offers persuasive testimony in support of his position. This was disgorged in February 2019 with four grams per liter dosage. (Drink between 2021-2038)"
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