Two special Cuvees from one of my favourite Growers – Champagne Vilmart

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

Proprietor Laurent Champs makes some of the most elegant, refined wines in Champagne. All of the wines are aged in oak ranging from large, neutral casks to small barriques, some of which are new for the top selections. Few producers have been able to find such impeccable balance using oak. A hint of Ramonet here, a suggestion of Leflaive there....simply put, these are majestic wines that no one who loves fine Champagne will want to be without. ANTONIO GALLONI, Vinous.com

Vilmart is among my favorite houses that have mastered the difficult challenge of delivering an elegant and full-flavored Champagne with finesse. If you don’t know the house, do yourself a favor and give one of the cuvées a try, you’ll thank me for the suggestion. BURGHOUND

If a visit with the articulate and passionately quality-conscious Laurent Champs – or even “just” the tasting of his wines – doesn’t leave you inspired about the future of Champagne, then I don’t know what that would take. DAVID SCHILKNECHT, The Wine Advocate

One is in no doubt, when chatting and tasting with the affable Laurent Champs of Champagne Vilmart, that one is in the presence of a very assured and gifted winemaker, a visionary in the mould of his close friend Anselme Selosse. Berry Bros & Rudd

Consistency is the name of the game at Vilmart. Year in and year out, these are some of the most polished, sophisticated wines in Champagne. Laurent Champs and his son, Thomas, craft Champagnes of delicacy and finesse. All the Champagnes are done in oak, but wood is always expertly used. ANTONIO GALLONI, 2024

Ah, Vilmart Champagne. It is no exaggeration to say these are among my favourite producers in Champers. They are a bit of a hot topic around the office at the moment as we look at the next allocation.

Michael, Alex, Mylo, myself and the team have been beating the drum hard, when it comes to these wines, for many years now. Laurent crafts some of the most profoundly beautiful expressions of Champagne on the planet. His signature style, if that is the right way to phrase it, is one of elegance and finesse coupled with an alluring and sensual undercurrent of chalky, powdery extract that brings the minerality and fresh acidity to life in his bottlings.

It’s a remarkable estate, I remember I used to call it “Krug like” back in the day, but that’s not really true at all. His wines are uniquely and entirely Vilmart. The similarities come from the use of old barrels in the winemaking which lend the wines a certain depth of vinosity and draw out the terroir driven elements.

Old vines in great vineyards managed meticulously well and then considered and careful winemaking. Not a new recipe but it sure was when Laurent adopted these practices back in the day. He really is one of the founding fathers of the Grower Champagne Movement. Decades of working closely with his climats and the resulting wines has given him a more serene and sure sense than many of the more recent producers who have moved to this kind of style. It really shows in the overall sense of confidence and grace in all of his wines.

Unlike most of his comrades he spends more of his time amongst his vines than attending fancy lunches in a suit and tie. At a recent visit he arrived late because he was out in the vineyard and lost track of time. Some people might take that badly, I thought it was more appropriate than talking to people about his wines. He is, after all, a vigneron.

For any not initiated in the cult of Vilmart, I approach these more like great Burgundy, as does Laurent. Served in a large glass and given the same attention as I would a bottle of Ramonet, who I oft liken his wines to. They are also remarkably gourmand, and suited to the table as much as they are to general consumption.

They age brilliantly well to, if that is your bent.

Vilmart is the complete package for me and nothing about these two releases will change my mind. They are super. The current rendition of Rubis is drop dead gorgeous with enough pinosity and volume of fruit to really bring it in to a rare league of Champagne Rose. It’s all seductive curves, cool fruit and billowing mousse. Pin point accuracy for the acidity and such vibrancy to underpin the depth of flavour.

This year’s Coeur de Cuvee shows the inner tension of the vintage as well as its more pronounced mineral depth. The mint leaf, lemon oil and gentle lees (some of those Ramonet esq characters I mentioned) are so enticing. It leaves your palate quivering and tingling with excitement. Beautiful wine.