NV Vilmart & Cie "Grand Cellier" Brut
The Vilmart NV Brut Grand Cellier is 70% Chardonnay and 30% Pinot. It comes from two small parcels of vineyards and is aged for 10 months in large wooden vats, called foudre, before going to bottle for 16 months of secondary fermentation. You'll find notes of freshly picked apple and toasty overtones with an herbal aromatic. With a subtle chalky tone and bright salinity there is loads of complexity to be found here. There is a touch of residual sugar, but it barely made our radar. A great value in top quality bubbles.
Wine Spectator
A mouthwatering Champagne that shows seamless integration of the plush and creamy mousse, rapierlike acidity and expressive range of peach, chopped nut, ripe green apple, star anise and honeysuckle aromas and flavors that persist on the long finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
Wine & Spirits
This is a 70-30 blend of chardonnay and pinot noir grown in clay-limestone soils. The components come from harvests in 2014 through ’16, the wines aged 10 months in foudre. It’s spicy in its structure and lasting in its fruit, with flavors ranging from the red blush of pear skin to orange and dry pineapple. Powerful, generous and still tight, this should develop well over the next several years.
Vinous
The NV Brut Grand Cellier is a classy, super-polished wine from Vilmart. Bright, effusive aromatics and generous citrus flavors abound. Marzipan, chamomile, dried flowers and sage lend complexity to this beautifully defined edition of the Grand Cellier.
Jeb Dunnuck
Made from 70% Chardonnay and the remainder Pinot Noir, the NV Champagne Grand Cellier Brut was raised for 10 months in large foudre before spending 30 months sur latte. The nose is rounded and soft, with a delicate perfume of vanilla pastry, Anjou pear, and white flowers. The palate is rounded but dry, with citrus zest that lifts through the modest finish. Best After 2023.