Vilmart & CieRilly-la-Montagne, Montagne de Reims

Producer profile
PL grower-producer since 1890 with 11 hectares mostly in Rilly-la-Montagne. Since 1989 Laurent Champs "has been in charge of the estate, turning it into one of the finest grower-producers in the Montagne de Reims." 11 hectares, sustainable viticulture with no herbicides or chemical fertilizers used. "All the wines are fermented and aged in oak of various sizes" and malo is systematically avoided. NV Grand Cellier vs vintage Grand Cellier d’Or is large foudres vs smaller oak barriques and grapes from a particularly chalky lieu-dit Blanches Voies. Cuvée Rubis is an "excellent" rosé that is "supple in texture and elegantly fruity", while the vintage Grand Cellier Rubis is made only in great years. Vilmart's top wine Coeur de Cuvée has been made since 1989 from Blanches Voies vines that are more than 50 years old. Hallmarks of Vilmart style are "voluptuous texture and silky finesse". Member of Les Artisans du Champagne. TyS 7/10 "lauded grower", "full and vinous wines of great purity and fine-drawn detail". Predominance of chardonnay vines is "extraordinary" in a village traditionally planted with pinot noir. The "confident but masterful" use of oak is "among the most seamless and well integrated" in Champagne, producing cuvees of "freshness, elegance and richness" that articulate "the salty minerality of the northern Montagne with unusual clarity." "A pioneer of eco-friendly viticulture" with organic treatment since 1968. ToS 90 "value", "superstar status". Mature Grand Cellier d’Or is a "mini Krug". "The key to Vilmart style is the absence of malolactic fermentation, which gives the champagne a succulence and linear backbone." "After prolonged ageing these wines show an autumnal, full-bodied and honeyed nature". The flagship Coeur de Cuvée is a "deep, powerful and complex wine that is strongly oak flavoured when released." Insightful section on the vintage variations of this cuvée. TT 2019 Champagne catalog page 228 (see also 2016).

Tasting notes

Cuvée Rubis. 90% pinot noir and 10% chardonnay. Disgorged December 2017. Powder-coated black foil with decorated underside. Fresh cork and a matte-red plaque de muselet. Narrowish rectangular label with textured paper and embossed ruby lettering. Vivid cranberry or arctic char hue, redder than salmon. Unique taste bringing associations with tropical pulpy fruit like soursop or cherimoya. Coolly tart, savory, dry, ample, spicy and aromatic. Super! Purchased at Molly's Spirits in summer 2020 for $85. TT 2019 Champagne catalog page 230 (see also 2018). ⭐⭐⭐

Grand Cellier d'Or 2013. 80% chardonnay and 20% pinot noir. Disgorged in June 2017. Beautifully styled cuvée with attractively shaped bottle and label. Uncorked easily with a long tail of condensation. Vibrant yellow plaque de muselet. Neutral yellow wine with ebullient bead. Tasty sweet toastiness and pronounced flintiness are the first scent impressions. Then notable oak influence. The flavor starts with sweet and vinous aspects, then turns fragrant, fresh, and actually dry, and ends with a long and distinctive finish. This wine "breathes" with a kind of after-rain freshness and coolness. Flavor associations with pear, almond tart filling, and even Niçoise olives. Zalto Burgundy glass highlights the oak notes and in it the wine is nearly flirting with oakiness but ultimately the interplay between sugars and vinosity is very effective. Multifaceted and evolving taste and aromatics. Terrific with food. Purchased at Marty's in autumn 2020 for $115. TT 2018 Champagne catalog page 42.  ⭐⭐

Grand Cellier. 70% chardonnay and 30% pinot noir. Disgorged in December 2015. Uncorked with a double pop. Good barrel-shaped cork. No scent from the mouth of the bottle, except for a subtle creamy promise. Perfect mousse. The aroma from Zalto White Wine glass gives the impression of pure cold spring water with such clarity and insistence that it's nearly stark and unmistakable like the smell of first snow. Is this how my palate interprets oak influence? The flavor is vocal, even adamant, with potency and cellophane signature of some Alsace whites. This wine is a completely unique champagne, I've tasted nothing like it. It's super fresh, springy, and bright after 6 years in the bottle. The acidity is tantalizing and the wine registers as maybe salty, or even slippery, and inexplicably sweet without actually being sweet at all. More fragrant and humid from Zalto Universal. TT 2016 Champagne catalog page 38. Purchased at Hazel's in autumn 2020 for $70. Can't believe my luck!  ⭐⭐⭐

Grand Cellier d'Or 2009. 80% chardonnay, 20% pinot noir. Disgorged in June 2013. Beautiful darkly styled bottle and plaque de muselet with vitrage motif. Read about the stained glass connection in Terry Theise's book Reading Between the Wines. Good cork. Brain-tickling, saliva-triggering acidity carries through to the scent. Then comes oak. The first hit from Jancis glass is super-sweet but the wine quickly catches its balance and steadies with biscuity vinosity. Chalk and cucumber flit by. Pulsing ebullience in Zalto Champagne. Foam from a fresh pour dissolves with promising susurration. Metallic afterglow in Jancis. With air and food the wine turns richly toasty and nearly syrupy in concentration of flavor. Not sugary, mind you, it's opulent but balanced. I'm thinking darkly fragrant bitterness of cherry preserves or the juicy firmness of perfectly ripe black bing cherries. The oak that was so apparent in the beginning completely disappears and while the wine is toasty and generous, it is also remarkably high-toned and slim-waisted. Like a practiced tightrope walker. Fabulous funambulist of a wine! Purchased at Catherine's in autumn 2020 for $100. ⭐⭐⭐