Champagne Vilmart & Cie Brut 1er Cru "Grand Cellier d'Or" 2018

Alcohol: 12.5%

Grape(s): 80 % Chardonnay and 20 % Pinot Noir

Localization: Champagne, France

Tasting Notes: The Grand Cellier d'Or emerges from the Blanches Voies lieu-dit and is aged in French oak barrels. Creamy and ample, the wine is wonderfully sensual from start to finish. The warm vintage has given the Grand Cellier d'Or lovely textural suaveness without excessive exuberance. Lemon confit, dried flowers, mint and marzipan build nicely in the glass. This is beautifully done. The blend is 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir.

Food Pairing: Too complex food pairing should be avoided to keep the wine balance. It texture and mature aromatic profile will lead the wine to seek products, preferably like caviar or with dishes with firm texture (lobster, white meats) and reduced sauces.

The Domain: Vilmart has been estate-bottling wine in the village of Rilly-la-Montagne since 1890. Its current proprietor, Laurent Champs, is the fifth generation of his family to make wine here.

Champs is a member of Ampelos, an organisation that certifies and promotes sustainable viticulture, and he has used no herbicides or chemical fertilisers since taking over the estate in 1989. He ferments and ages all of his wine in oak: large foudres of up to 5,500 litres for the entry-level wines, and 225- litre barriques or 600-litre casks for his top wines, the vintage-dated Coeur de Cuvée and Grand Cellier d’Or. Combined with their ripe fruit, this gives Vilmart’s Champagnes a creamy depth and complexity, although they also retain a brisk focus and poise, thanks to their avoidance of malolactic fermentation. They tend to be very closed in their youth, needing several years after release to fully reveal their character and aroma.