Vilmart & Cie Grand Cellier Premier Cru Brut Champagne

We didn’t make it to midnight with our Champagne glasses in hand this year, sadly. No. Instead, we were that family that was tucked in and snoring away before the ball dropped in Times Square at midnight.

Well, not me actually. I’m a night owl through and through. But everyone else was fast asleep.

As a result, the beautiful Champagne that we had chilled for the purposes of enjoying in celebration of New Year’s Eve didn’t get drunk on the eve that it was intended for. Having said that, a Champagne this good couldn’t and wouldn’t be wasted in my house. We just drank it on January 1st instead! I mean, January 1st is still the New Year isn’t it? :)

And let me tell you - this Champagne is a beauty. Well worth your time if and when you can get your hands on it!

Now, I won’t be shocked if you haven’t had this Champagne before. It is certainly not one of the “big” Champagne houses that we all know and love. That said, it is not small either and is certainly well known and well appreciated by most Champagne aficionados.

Vilmart & Cie is a Grower Champagne, a title that is awarded to producers in Champagne that utilize their own fruit (as opposed to buying it from the bevy of growers that supply all of the big Champagne houses) and also bottle their own wines on their estate. Of late, Grower Champagne has become a very cache phenomenon and more and more growers are going in this direction, presumably to ride the wave of the trend and make more money than they can if they grow fruit and sell it to others.

However, Vilmart & Cie has been estate bottling wine since the 1890s. The current head of the domaine, Laurent Champs, is the fifth generation of his family to be involved in making wine on behalf of this estate, which is located in the village of Rilly-la-Montagne (a premier cru village) in the Champagne region. They don’t utilize herbicides and chemical fertilizers at this estate and undertake vinification and aging in large oak foudres. Vilmart & Cie holds 11 hectares of land, planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The Vilmart & Cie Grand Cellier Premier Cru Brut is an entry level offering of the domaine. A non-vintage Champagne made from a blend of three years of wines, it is composed of an assemblage of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot Noir and is aged for ten months in oak casks followed by 30 months aging on the lees. This Champagne is the recipient of many, many accolades - one only needs to Google it to find the rave reviews.

My Tasting Notes

A lovely light golden colour in the glass, this Champagne displays a refined and elegant mousse and perlage. On the nose, the Champagne is initially shy but then gives over to buttered toast, butter cookie (think Peak Freans!), white orchid, lemon and steel aromas. On the palate, the Champagne is assertive and bold, demonstrating bruised apple, lime, peaches and cream, walnut and brioche notes. It is fabulous, classy and delicious! I highly recommend this Champagne as a must-have in your cellar. If you can get your hands on it, grab it and enjoy - you won’t regret it!

Pair with shellfish, aged washed-rind cheese or an indulgent pancake/waffle/scones and cream brekky!