Three Triumphant Grower Champagnes from Vilmart!

Last Thursday we had a visit to our Elston Avenue store by six top Champagne grower-producers including the most revered of all, Vilmart & Cie!

"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, Champagneguide.net

Laurent Champs is the genius behind Vilmart. He was joined at our store by his charismatic son, Thomas. Together, they wowed the crowd with their kindness, intelligence, and - of course - their Champagne.

Today we bring you three of their wines, leading off the elegant acidity and frothy full mousse of their Vilmart "Grand Cellier" Brut NV. This absolutely luxurious Champagne is a thing of beauty. Earning an ardent 94 Points from both Wine Spectator and our tasting team, it absolutely floored us.

Read on for the tasting notes on this meticulously crafted Champagne, and two even smaller production bottlings from Laurent and Thomas, then click quick on the Big Yellow Button to get these beautiful sparklers in your life!

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Vilmart et Cie "Grand Cellier" Premier Cru Brut NV
Champagne, France
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We have been featuring the wines of Vilmart for over two decades and it was a huge honor to have Laurent in our store. After a bit of small talk, we asked him the question we had been curious about for years: What makes Vilmart wines so special? What gives them that purity and precision that sets them uniquely apart from their peers?

Laurent answered: "Our land is very special, and it is that combined with our meticulous precision in the vineyard and winery that makes our Champagne." The word he emphasized was precision. Precision, like a Swiss watchmaker, leaving no variables to chance.

Their "Grand Cellier" shows the results of this meticulousness in a beautiful way, with rich, fleshy, intense mineral notes layered with citrus, orchard fruit, yellow plum, chalk, and lively acidity. It is very long, with a beautiful fine mousse that dances on your tongue culminating in a wonderfully proportioned finish.

Vibrant yet subtle, this blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir is thoroughly delicious. Fermented and aged in large foudre with no malolactic fermentation, 30 months aging on the lees, and a 7g/L dosage, there is a keen crispness to the structure that makes it unmistakable as Vilmart. Matching our own enthusiastic 94-Point rating, Wine Spectator writes:

"There's a vibrant buoyancy to this graceful Champagne, with the finely detailed mousse and mouthwatering acidity serving as a springboard for flavors of ripe cherry, tangerine zest and macadamia nut, plus fragrant notes of lime blossoms, ground ginger and cardamom. Long and minerally on the plush finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Disgorged July 2023. Drink now through 2034. 1,000 cases imported."

- 94 Points, Wine Spectator (11/30/2024)

Wine Spectator quotes this at $83. Considering that this is only a few bucks more than regular non-vintage bottlings from the big houses, that is an EXTREMELY reasonable price. For Champagne lovers, this is a can't-miss!

Vin Chicago Price: 73.99

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Vilmart et Cie "Cuvée Rubis" 1er Cru Rosé Brut NV
Champagne, France
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This refreshing Rosé blend of 90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay is sourced from the Premier Cru villages of Rilly-la-Montagne and Villers-Allerands in Montagne de Reims. Deft use of large oak barrels, over 30 months on the lees, and a dosage of 8 g/l results in a vibrant, precise, and subtle cuvée.

Fresh and delicate notes of raspberry, strawberry, mandarin and a hint of spice lead to chalky minerality with a deeply textured, persistently long finish. This is the essence of elegance from start to finish.

"Delivers chiseled acidity that's deftly integrated with a fine, raw silk–like texture and tightly meshed flavors of raspberry and white cherry fruit, raw almond, pink grapefruit peel and fragrant spices. Reveals a minerally underpinning of smoke, saline and oyster shell accents, which gain momentum on the racy finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Disgorged July 2022. Drink now through 2026. 80 cases imported."

- 93 Points, Wine Spectator (12/15/2023)

Vin Chicago Price: 89.99

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Vilmart et Cie "Grand Cellier d'Or" 1er Cru Brut 2018
Champagne, France
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This Premier Cru blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir hails from vines over 50 years old in the lieu-dit Blanches Voies in Rilly-la-Montagne. As with the other wines, there is no malo, with fermentation and aging in older large barrels and a 7 g/l dosage. This 2018 vintage Champagne saw a whopping 42 months on the lees which imparts a round, toasty goodness. Rich, hedonistically harmonious, lively, effervescent, and suave, this Vilmart Champagne is the pinnacle of balance and beauty.

"Enticing ripe fruit and spice aromas herald this chiseled Champagne, which offers yellow peach, raspberry, almond biscotti, spun honey and smoke flavors set on a fine, vibrant mousse. Long and expressive, with grated ginger, ground cardamom and white blossom notes lingering on the racy finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Disgorged July 2022. Drink now through 2035. 250 cases imported."

- 94 Points, Wine Spectator (12/15/2024)

Vin Chicago Price: 107.99

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