NV Grande Reserve, Brut, Champagne Vilmart, France

“Vilmart is the greatest grower Champagne I know.””..the Vilmart range begins at brilliant and just keeps getting better.” Tom Stevenson MW.

30% Chardonnay, 70% Pinot Noir. Attractive biscuity aromas with rich creamy fruit on the palate. Champagne for any occasion and for pure fresh unadulterated enjoyment.

"The key name at Vilmart, in Rilly on the Montagne de Reims, is Champs. The current incumbent is Laurent Champs, who inherited the mantle from his mother Nicole Vilmart and his father René, who was originally one of the vineyard workers. Laurent is thus a direct descendent, a great-great-grandson in fact, of Desire Vilmart, who established the family firm in 1872. Today he extols 11 hectares of vines in premier cru vineyards in Rilly and Villers-Allerand, both villages just a few kilometres directly south of Reims. A mix of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with some vines as old as 50 years, the fruit is harvested by hand, pressed and allowed to settle, before transfer into oak, generally large 50-hectolitre foudres for the entry-level non-vintage Grande Réserve and Grand Cellier cuvées and 225-litre Burgundy barrels for the more exciting single-vintage Grand Cellier d'Or and Coeur de Cuvée." The Wine Doctor

"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