2012 Vilmart Coeur de Cuvée

M

MLipton

Mark Lipton
Yup, it’s a youngster (disgorged 4/19) but holy shit is this good! Intensely citrusy and saline, with a tactile sense of power alongside the creamy richness of the mouthfeel. Very much in the vein of Vilmart’s NV wines, but there’s so much more under the hood here. We’ll have to see if we can keep our hands off the other bottles for a while to see how this develops with time.

Mark Lipton
 
Heck, the 2006 needs a lot more time. It only opens up on the third day.

I'm starting to think that off vintages are the way to go with this wine.
 
Champagne novice here . . .
There seem to be non-vintage, vintage, vintage single vineyard or proprietary blends as the price point moves upward.
I’d be interested in somebody comparing these different wines, particularly from Vilmart. And also opinions on how the lesser cuvées compare to other producers deemed on a peer with Vilmart.
Diane loves bubbles and it’s time I start doing something about it.
Thanks, jim
 
I've been trying to make some sense of the terrain - so to speak - of Champagnes for a couple of years, albeit without your characteristic focus (and, I dare say, resources).

Mostly I'm limited to NVs, among the best of which I've tasted are the Bollinger Special and Vilmart at near $50; Roederer Brut Premier typically gets high marks in this category, but I'd need to open another bottle to refresh my own memory. Apart from these, I haven't found much to write home about, and plenty I'd as soon drink a Loire or Jura cremant ahead of, including the often-praised Pol Roger and Perrier. Moutard's NVs, under $30, head up the value category, and are weirdly good at the price. Think Jadot Chardonnay.

I have a few vintage bottles that are still maturing - so far, little experience there.

Non-dosage is an interesting category in its own right, and I'm finding them often to be more interesting and characterful than their stablemates, to my taste.

Peter Liem's book is a bit of a classic. Or, alternatively, there's the memorably-titled "Let's Get Fizzical."

Huge experience on the board on the topic, nearly all better-qualified than me to offer suggestions. Looking forward to reading your progress reports.
 
originally posted by Florida Jim:
Champagne novice here . . .
There seem to be non-vintage, vintage, vintage single vineyard or proprietary blends as the price point moves upward.
I’d be interested in somebody comparing these different wines, particularly from Vilmart. And also opinions on how the lesser cuvées compare to other producers deemed on a peer with Vilmart.
Diane loves bubbles and it’s time I start doing something about it.
Thanks, jim
Click to expand...

Hey Jim, while I personally love Vilmart Coeur I don't find the other wines in the range to be particularly good values relative to other choices. They also come in stupid bottles that don't work with my racking.

Knowing you and what you like, I think you'd really like Agrapart. The 7 Cru and the Terroirs bottlings would both suit your palate and are good value relative to their peer group.

Other Champagnes I love are Ulysse Collin and Alexandre Filaine but they are both on the expensive side and hard to get so may be of limited utility. In that same vein I've also been exploring Marguet, Suenen, and Lahaye.

I've been really happy with the Laherte wines. Even the vintage, parcel wines can be under $80 and the standard issue BdB Brut Nature and Extra Brut are great values in a sort of Chablis+bubbles style.

A really interesting wine I had recently was Corbon BdB 2007. I believe it is the current release and it was a very cool, idiosyncratic wine with really dense chalky minerals and some mature notes. I think you'd like it. Their NV BdB is fairly priced and may also be interesting.

Guy Larmandier wines are widely available and I think are good value in a style you would like.
 
Jim, do you have any sense of what style of Champagne Diane might prefer? It’s tough to provide advice here in particular because my experience is Champagne preferences are so personal and unpredictably different from person to person.

In the mid-priced range based on what I’ve tried over the last year, I’d recommend Hebrart Mes Favorites (and if you like that, he has a great range in both directions).
 
Jim, I don't drink sparklings anymore, but in the past I've had good luck with Pierre Peters's bottlings...the NV Les Mesnil Blanc de Blancs Brut being a reasonable example.

. . . . . Pete
 
I appreciate the responses.
As to D’s preferences, I’ve not seen her unhappy with any bubbles she’s served. Perhaps, not as big a fan of Cremants and Cavas but generally happy with any champagne.
For myself, I have little experience but I recently had a Dom (special occasion as that’s beyond my price) and a vintage Roederer that I thought were terrific.
A lot of the producers you guys are talking about are unfamiliar to me. But the ones you mention as being more available/less expensive will probably be where I start.
Thanks, jim
 
Jim, j seem to remember that you sometimes shop in Tarpon Springs when in FL, they do have both Agrapart and Laherte. Which I would also expect you will like.

(Edit: I just see that VLM was a bit faster than me).
 
Jim, I am far from the most knowledgeable here, but the answer to your question depends so much on style. Given your known fondness for Chablis on the young side, I’d think Blanc de Blancs without much toast in the nose would be your best bet. Larmandier-Bernier would be one to try, along with Robert Moncuit and Caillez-Lemaire. The Vilmart style is rounder but still very refreshing. And I’ll also put in a plug for sparkling Gringet from Ayze. Dom. Belluard is the best known producer.

Ye Champagne-swilling denizens: what stemware do you drink it out of these days? I presume that for most of you, flutes have gone the way of the coupe. So, what do you use now? We tend to now use white wine glasses.

Mark Lipton
 
originally posted by MLipton:
Jim, I am far from the most knowledgeable here, but the answer to your question depends so much on style. Given your known fondness for Chablis on the young side, I’d think Blanc de Blancs without much toast in the nose would be your best bet. Larmandier-Bernier would be one to try, along with Robert Moncuit and Caillez-Lemaire. The Vilmart style is rounder but still very refreshing. And I’ll also put in a plug for sparkling Gringet from Ayze. Dom. Belluard is the best known producer.

Ye Champagne-swilling denizens: what stemware do you drink it out of these days? I presume that for most of you, flutes have gone the way of the coupe. So, what do you use now? We tend to now use white wine glasses.

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

I had Jim's fondness for Chablis in mind with my recommendations as well.

We use whatever glasses we will be using for the rest of the dinner. If we're drinking only Champagne then white wine glasses (or the the Jancis glass) but if we're drinking reds, we use the Zalto Bordeaux stems for everything else these days.
 
originally posted by MLipton:
... Chablis on the young side ... Champagne-swilling denizens
Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

1. lilbert.

2. when it comes to actually enjoying bubbles, don't diss the idea of a well-made coupe. at least until you've examined the matter with an open mind. i honestly love them.

fb.
 
originally posted by MLipton:

Ye Champagne-swilling denizens: what stemware do you drink it out of these days?

Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

I drink it from the riedel veritas "champagne wine glass" when I am not drinking it from a flute or from the riedel riesling glass.

does that clarify things?
 
originally posted by MLipton:
Given your known fondness for Chablis on the young side, I’d think Blanc de Blancs without much toast in the nose would be your best bet.
Mark Lipton
Click to expand...

where is he going to find a BdB in the Aube, that has the Chablis soil?

I had to ask.
 
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