Located in the Montagne de Reims in the village of Rilly la Montagne

Richard Juhlin’s new book 4000 Champagnes on the subject of Vilmart & Cie. “Vilmart has quickly established cult status . . . since young Laurent [Champs] took over from his father in 1991, the company has become one of the true gems with the perfect wine, Coeur de Cuvée, as its most brilliant star. This wine was the best made in Champagne during the “off” years of `91, `92, `93 and `97. Hunt like a demon for the scarce 5000 bottles that were made of this gem!”

"Wood-aged base wines give these Champagnes distinctly mealy and Burgundian flavors. They’re often described as the best grower in Champagne or “the poor man’s Krug.” Vilmart’s wines can offer a resonance and majesty unique among small estates. At best, Vilmart’s wines are grandiose and resplendent. With sufficient bottle-age these can take you up and up into rare altitudes of complexity. Even at ground-level they’ve got lots of flavor, as though the flavors were stated in BOLD CAPS. A further key to quality is the large proportion of pre-clonal Chardonnay vines. “These grapes are yellower than those from clonal vines,” says Laurent. “And they have an incredible Muscat aroma.” And Laurent, like every great producer, has a wife who says he’s “a maniac for his vineyards.” Terry Thiese

RM or récoltant-manipulant. Driven by passion for their product, these producers bottle and sell their wines under their own labels. There is a potential for high quality combined with good value, and wines that might reflect the terroir of small plots of land rather than standardised blends. R stands for Récoltant ( the literal translation is ‘Harvester’) M stands for Manipulant ( literally ‘Handler’) These “grower” champagnes account for just under 3 percent of the total market.