Mainly Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, the NV Champagne Premier Cru Grande Reserve Brut is bright, refreshing, and pure, with attractive fruity aromas and flavors of candied grapefruit, ripe pear, fresh flowers, and chalky earth. Medium-bodied, it’s approachable and refreshing, with a sunny, crystalline feel. It offers a refined, pinpoint mousse (which, on second tasting, is rounder and enhances its spice through the finish). It has nice purity and clean length. I love this for its freshness and would find it highly versatile for drinking over the next several years. This release is based on 2022, with reserve wines from 2020 and 2021, and was aged for 10 months in large oak barrels. It was disgorged in November 2024. Drink 2025-2035.

A blend of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, the latest rendition of Vilmart's NV Brut Premier Cru Grande Réserve reveals a pure, delicate bouquet of pear, white flowers, confit citrus and menthol. Medium to full-bodied, pure, precise and seamless, it has a fleshy core of fruit, bright acids and a crystalline texture that paves the way to a long, mouthwatering and ethereal finish. Based on the 2021 vintage complemented with 2020 and 2019, it includes 50% vins de réserve and was vinified and matured for 10 months. - Yohan Castaing

Based on the 2020 vintage with 50% of reserve wines from the previous two years, the Vilmart Grand Réserve NV is a 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay blend that is barrel fermented with ten months on lees prior to second fermentation and disgorgement December 2022. It was finished with an eight grams per liter dosage. Burnished gold with columns of exuberant bubbles, it opens with slightly oxidative notes of bruised apple that give way to fresh Anjou pear, white grapefruit peel, verbena blossoms and toast. Medium-bodied with incisive acid freshness and subdued orchard fruit, it finishes with a long, mineral note. - Sarah Mayo

A vibrant Champagne, with a firm frame of acidity well-meshed with flavors of crushed white cherry, tangerine peel, oyster shell and blanched almond. Fine and creamy. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Disgorged September 2024. Drink now. - AN

With equal parts of the 2022 base vintage and reserve wines (from 2021 and 2020), the latest release of Vilmart & Cie’s NV Grande Réserve was disgorged in July 2024 with a dosage of six grams per liter. Heavily based on Pinot Noir and vinified in large foudres, some as old as 50 years, it offers up aromas of peach, ripe lemon and pear. On the palate, it's medium to full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with an expressive profile, laden with tangy acidity, it concludes with a long, expansive finish. Compared to Vilmart’s premium NV Grand Cellier, the Grande Réserve is a more generous, charming style of cuvée, which can be attributed to its powerful Pinot Noir component. - Kristaps Karklins

The NV Brut Grande Réserve is terrific. Ample and exuberant in the glass, the Brut Grande Réserve is immediately arresting. Floral notes, spice and dried citrus are front and center. I especially admire the Grande Réserve's energy and upfront appeal. This is a fabulous introduction to the Vilmart Champagnes. This edition is based on 2022, with 50% reserve wines from 2021 and 2020. Dosage is 6 grams per liter. Disgorged: September 2024. -- Antonio Galloni