- Practicing organic
- 80% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir
- From Rilly-la-Montagne 1er Cru (lieu-dit “Blanches Voies”)
- Chalk and limestone soils
- 50+ year old vines
- No malo
- Fermented and aged in 4-6 year old barrels
- Aged 42 months on the lees
- Dosage: 7g/L
Info
Producer:
Vintage:
2020
Country:
France
Region:
Champagne
Appellation:
Montagne de Reims
Variety:
Blend- Champagne
Color:
White
Farming Practice:
Sustainable
Sizes Available
| Full Bottle | FR-KVM-30-20 | 12/750ml |
Resources
Press & Reviews
Jeb Dunnuck
Score
95
Date
2025-12-16
"The 2020 Champagne Premier Cru Grand Cellier D'Or Brut is gorgeous and open on the nose, with perfumed floral and pastry notes of fresh pastry dough, lemon verbena, citrus blossoms, fresh hazelnut, and fresh peaches. It™s mainly Chardonnay with 20% Pinot Noir, from 50-year-old vines, and it was fermented for 10 months in 228-liter barrels and aged 42 months on the lees in the cellar after bottling. Elegant and medium to full-bodied, it™s more rounded, finessed, and open with this release. The palate is round but again has driving, stony mineral persistence and structure that is characteristic of the mousse, which is refined and adds just a bit of energetic electricity to the wine. The second tasting was more taut and tension-driven. The mousse is pillowy and inviting, and its acidity is refreshing and bright. It™s approachable now but should have a wide window for drinking over the next 15 to 20 years."
Wine Spectator
Score
95
Date
2025-10-01
"A finely meshed white, with a firm frame of acidity creating a compact feel at first. Expands on the palate, riding the raw silk†like mousse to reveal flavors of juicy blackberry, cassis and black cherry fruit, plus layers of candied lemon peel, chopped hazelnut, grated ginger and fragrant spices. Clean-cut and mineral-driven on the lasting finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Disgorged July 2024. Drink now through 2040."
Wine Advocate
Score
94+
Date
2025-05-08
"Sourced from the lieu-dit Les Blanches Voies in Rilly-la-Montagne, the same vineyard that supplies their Blanc de Blancs, Vilmart & Cie™s 2020 Grand Cellier d™Or is a resounding success. Informed by 50-year-old, south-facing vines and framed by élevage in 228-liter barrels, this cuvée follows the signature blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. Laurent Champs recalls 2020 as a year of exceptional quality, if not quantity. Disgorged in July 2024 with a dosage of seven grams per liter, it soars from the glass with aromas of dried flowers, vanilla, lemon zest and pear, mingling with spices. On the palate, it is deep and tensile, structured around vivid acidity, perfectly capturing the hard-to-strike balance between richness and freshness, concluding with a long, precise finish."
Vinous
Score
92
Date
2025-04-09
"The 2020 Brut Grand Cellier d'Or is 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir. Bold citrus and savory notes are beautifully delineated throughout. There's terrific energy in the glass, along with a slightly vegetal quality typical of the year that lurks beneath. I especially admire the wine's tension. This finely cut, vibrant Champagne certainly has a lot to recommend it. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: July 2024."
REVIEWS FROM PAST VINTAGES
2014
Vinous
Score
94
Date
2019-12-09
2014
Wine Advocate
Score
94
Date
2021-04-12
2014
Wine Spectator
Score
94
Date
2019-10-15
Wine Spectator
Score
96
Date
2022-12-15
Jeb Dunnuck
Score
96
Date
2024-12-22
"Mostly Chardonnay (80%), the 2019 Champagne 1er Cru Grand Cellier D'Or Brut is a bright yellow hue and is really starting to show off, revealing nuance, finesse, and opulence. Its notes of star fruit, pastry cream, croissants, fresh baked bread, and poached apples are followed by a full-bodied wine that retains its lovely focus and purity on the palate, with a refined mousse that rounds out the wine, and it offers a wonderful texture of citrus oils and salty earth. It™s a lovely wine all the way through and is going to age gracefully over the coming two decades."
Wine Advocate
Score
94+
Date
2024-10-24
"A charming, exquisite Champagne, the 2012 Brut Premier Cru Grand Cellier d'Or evokes aromas of pear, white peach, spring blossom, pastry and praline. It has a medium to full-bodied, round and enrobing palate with good depth at the core and bright acids, concluding with a long, ethereal and racy finish. It could age another 10 years with grace."
Vinous
Score
94
Date
2019-12-09
Wine Advocate
Score
94
Date
2024-10-24
"Crafted from 50-year-old vines facing south, Vilmart's 2019 Brut Premier Cru Grand Cellier d'Or evokes aromas of pear, white peach, spring flowers, spices, lemon oil and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, pure and crystalline, it has a fleshy core of fruit, bright acids and a seamless texture enhanced by delicate notes of nuts and acacia, concluding with a long, saline finish. This is a great effort that could age gracefully over the next 20 years."
Wine Spectator
Score
94
Date
2024-09-25
"Enticing ripe fruit and spice aromas herald this chiseled Champagne, which offers yellow peach, raspberry, almond biscotti, spun honey and smoke flavors set on a fine, vibrant mousse. Long and expressive, with grated ginger, ground cardamom and white blossom notes lingering on the racy finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Disgorged July 2022. Drink now through 2035. ‡A.N."
Vinous
Score
93
Date
2024-03-26
"The 2019 Grand Cellier d'Or emerges from the Blanches Voies lieu-dit and is aged in French oak barrels. Creamy and ample, the 2019 is wonderfully sensual from start to finish. The warm vintage has given the Grand Cellier d'Or lovely textural suaveness, but without any 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. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. Disgorged: July 2023."
Wine Advocate
Score
93
Date
2020-09-17
Wine Spectator
Score
93
Date
2023-09-20
"Reveals a rapierlike spine of acidity that defines flavors of dried cherry, walnut oil, preserved lemon and pain d'špices, which have greater impact up front and through the midpalate, echoing quietly yet persistently on the finish. Disgorged May 2021. Drink now through 2030. 250 cases imported."
Wine Spectator
Score
92
Date
2018-08-31
Jeb Dunnuck
Score
92
Date
2022-11-07
Vinous
Score
92
Date
2022-11-01
Vinous
Score
91
Date
2017-07-14