'Grand Cellier d'Or' Brut

Score

94+

"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."

Score

92

"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."

Score

96

"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."

Score

94

"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."

Score

93

"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."

Score

93

"Reveals a rapierlike spine of acidity that defines flavors of dried cherry, walnut oil, preserved lemon and pain d',pices, 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."

Score

92

Score

92

Score

96

Score

93

Score

93

Score

93

Score

92