Beautifully refined and delicate with clementine and pale strawberry enlivened by a touch of flintiness and creaminess and delivered with a delicate mousse. The Chardonnay lifts and elongates with fine zesty energy. Detailed, poised and classy, this is superb value. 10 months predominantly in large oak foudres. (TH)

The current release of Laurent Champs’ Grand Cellier non-vintage Brut bottling is from the base year of 2018, with reserve wines included from the previous two vintages. The cépages is seventy percent chardonnay and thirty percent pinot noir. The vins clairs do not undergo malo and were aged in large foudres for ten months prior to bottling up for secondary fermentation. It was given two and a half years aging sur latte and finished with a dosage of eight grams per liter after its disgorgement in February of 2022. The wine offers up a very refined aromatic constellation of apple, pear, white lilies, bread dough, chalky minerality and the first vestiges of an eventual smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is bright, crisp and full-bodied, with fine depth at the core, excellent mineral drive, refined mousse and a long, complex and very well-balanced finish. This is already very tasty, but still pretty brisk, and a bit of bottle age will let the acids relax a bit more and the wine to really blossom. A very serious non-vintage Brut.

The NV Brut Grand Cellier is bright, effusive and wonderfully charming. White flowers, chalk, mint and lemon confit give this mid-weight, nervy Champagne tons of energy. All the elements are so nicely put together. I especially like the energy and crystalline purity here. There are a lot of terrific wines in this range, but the Grand Cellier is quintessentially Vilmart. This release is based on 2019, with the addition of reserve wines from 2018. Dosage is 7 grams per liter. (AG)