September 16, 2025
A trip to the Champagne region wouldn’t be complete without a visit to some grower champagne houses. Here are some of our recommendations. Vilmart & Cie Grande Reserve NV
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Vilmart & Cie is a grower champagne and family home that originated in 1890 by Désiré Vilmart and ever since, sons and sons-in-law have followed, always with this love of the profession, allowing this small domain to become what it is today in the heart of the Montagne de Reims a few kilometres south of Reims in the village Rilly la Montagne. Laurent Champs, 5th generation family member and Chef de Cave of Vilmart is one of Champagne’s unsung heroes, wine critic Tom Stevenson described Vilmart as “the greatest grower Champagne I know.” There are 11 hectares of Premier Cru vineyards in Rilly-la-Montagne which are planted with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The oldest vines are reserved for the Coeur de Cuvée and Blanc de Blancs champagnes. They have been farming biodynamically since 1989 and today are certified Viticulture Durable, Ampélos, and Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE) meaning farming is free of synthetic chemicals. The fermentations are entirely in oak, giving them a richness and complexity that really builds texture an unmistakably Vilmart character.
Another characteristic of Vilmart champagnes is the absence of malolactic fermentation. This preserves freshness, tautness and subtlety, as well as the pronounced identity of the aromas. After 10 months of vinification and resting on the lees in wooden barrels, the wines are bottled and left to age in the estate’s chalk cellars: three to four years for non-vintage champagnes, and five to eight years for vintages.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Premier Cru | Rilly la Montagne in the heart of the Montagne de Reims
Grape Varieties: 70% Pinot Noir & 30% Chardonnay
Reserve wines: 2021 & 2022
Base wine: 2023
Disgorged: July 2025
Ageing process: Ten months into large oak casks
Winemaker: Laurent Champs
Malolactic Fermentation: 0%
Dosage: 8 g/l
Tasting Note: Opening up on the nose with a rich bouquet of pastries, notes of frangipane and honeysuckle, with attractive aromas of pepper mint flagrance. On the palate, you can feel a fresh and a sharp attack of candied fruits. It reveals a beautiful balance between the richness and the tension with a complex structure. The bitterness of the citrus fruits is perfectly integrated with further flavours of pastries which remain present throughout the long, fine finish.
Watch Essi Avellan MW & Nick's video tasting review of this champagne here.
Another characteristic of Vilmart champagnes is the absence of malolactic fermentation. This preserves freshness, tautness and subtlety, as well as the pronounced identity of the aromas. After 10 months of vinification and resting on the lees in wooden barrels, the wines are bottled and left to age in the estate’s chalk cellars: three to four years for non-vintage champagnes, and five to eight years for vintages.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Premier Cru | Rilly la Montagne in the heart of the Montagne de Reims
Grape Varieties: 70% Pinot Noir & 30% Chardonnay
Reserve wines: 2021 & 2022
Base wine: 2023
Disgorged: July 2025
Ageing process: Ten months into large oak casks
Winemaker: Laurent Champs
Malolactic Fermentation: 0%
Dosage: 8 g/l
Tasting Note: Opening up on the nose with a rich bouquet of pastries, notes of frangipane and honeysuckle, with attractive aromas of pepper mint flagrance. On the palate, you can feel a fresh and a sharp attack of candied fruits. It reveals a beautiful balance between the richness and the tension with a complex structure. The bitterness of the citrus fruits is perfectly integrated with further flavours of pastries which remain present throughout the long, fine finish.
Watch Essi Avellan MW & Nick's video tasting review of this champagne here.
