Champagne Vilmart & Cie'Coeur de Cuvée' Brut 2013

This newest release of Vilmart Coeur de Cuvée was disgorged in December 2020. "Vilmart's 2013 Brut Coeur de Cuvée wafts from the glass with aromas of citrus oil, freshly baked bread, crisp yellow orchard fruit, white peach and nougat. Full-bodied, deep and layered, it's a seamless, concentrated Champagne that's chiseled and complete. This is a terrific rendition of this perennially exceptional cuvée." 95 Points, Robert Parker Wine Advocate

Vilmart & Cie. is not only one of the greatest grower-estates in Champagne, but one of the finest champagne producers of any type in the region. Vilmart & Cie. traces its history back to 1890, when it was founded by Désiré Vilmart, and from the beginning, Vilmart & Cie. has always been a récoltant-manipulant, making champagne exclusively from estate-owned vines. Since 1989 the estate has been in the hands of Laurent Champs, the fifth generation of the family to take the helm of the house. Vilmart's Laurent Champs farms 11 hectares of vines and enjoys a rare advantage in this highly morcellated region: those 11 hectares are divided into merely 12 plots. All are close to the winery in Rilly-la-Montagne and oriented south or southeast, and all their soils are rich in chalk. A partisan of barrel fermentation and élevage—working exclusively with Meursault's tonnellerie Damy since 1992—Vilmart is a source of powerful, vinous wines that are invariably polished and racy. Recent releases have demonstrated an increasingly adept mastery of oak, its influence remaining firmly in the background, and they're developing more slowly. "This is one of Champagne's top estates, and the wines reviewed here come warmly recommended." -Robert Parker.