Vilmart--Emotion and Coeur de Cuvee (select vintages), the meal anchored by Astrid

My House In The South OC
Tasted Sunday, February 4, 2024 by Frank Murray III with 55 views

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

  • 2000 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Cuvée Creation

    France, Champagne

    The cork stamp says 2010, so that may be the disgorgement year. I heard a # of positive comments about this wine last night, and fortunately I have enough for another glass tonight, so I can get one final impression. But, from last night's notes, at almost 24 years old, this remains fresh and lively. Yeah, some of the color has gone gold, but the flavor has not tired at all. Lime chew, juicy stone fruit, and a little light apple oxidation with persistent citrus to keep it lively........retasted again on Day 2 from what was leftover, and there is good CO2 remaining, too. Man, this is nice for a 20+ year old Champagne. Honeyed golden apple, toffee, savory lime and peach. Just a touch thick in texture but I don't mind it here. I'm feeling good that I was able to share this within a Vilmart dinner and have a # of people enjoy it, with one person saying to me today that he thought this might turn out to be one of the best wines he will have in 2024. Nice. And thank you to Steve Nordhoff who gifted me this back in 2018--thanks, brother.

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  • NV Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Cuvée Rubis

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    October 2020 disgorgement, Cherry, strawberry with a nice lick of minerality in a zesty package....fortunately I have the leftover bottle from last night, with plenty of wine (and C02) for retaste today. Salmon/pink in color. This is a very good iteration of Rubis. It has the density of a riper year, yet the acidity is plentiful, allowing both parts to work together. For me, more in the unctuous side of things, with a cool blood orange coil running through it, alongside a vein of strawberry. Stylistically, this works really well, so long as you're Ok with a richer, fuller expression of Rose.

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Flight 2 (4 Notes)

  • 2009 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    It's been 4 years since I had the 2009? Man, I deprived myself as this bottle is showing beautifully. May 2016 disgorgement. 80% Chard / 20% Pinot Noir. Fortunately there was some of this leftover, which I am going to revisit later today with tonight's dinner but for now, let me capture last night's impression. This, along with both the 2013 Emotion and 2013 Coeur de Cuvee were my wines of the night yesterday evening, and a credit here to the 2009, as this has 4 additional years of time in the bottle, which it represents beautifully. The usual tangerine and lime is here, both bright and concentrated in tone, with a persistent, balanced push of flavor, finishing with a light imprint of graham cracker....retasted again on Day 2 from what was leftover, with a good pop of CO2 hangin' in there. This kinda reminds me of the 2012 Emotion, with that same seductive quality. There is a tropical green note in the wine today, maybe pineapple but also mint, so if we mash those up, perhaps I get the descriptor I want to use. Even some ginger is flowing into this, plus some white chocolate and a pure tangerine. The kind of wine that lights up my senses, with a long imprint of fruit that lays joyfully on my palate and into a long finish. Limey acidity, pure fruit and a gentle but persistent slate. Just a beautiful bottle of Champagne, a gift of joy for my evening and one of the best Champagnes I have had in some time.

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  • 2010 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    Disgorged January 2017. 80% Chard / 20% Pinot Noir. This vintage gets outclassed when it stands alongside 2009 and 2013. Reflective of that are my very brief notes from last night. Lemon custard, orange marmalade and a honeyed quality. The bottle went home with someone else so nothing to retaste today.

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  • 2013 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    December 2020 disgorgement. Opened earlier in the day, gave it a good taste with a temp of 67f. My first impression was a big amount of chalky mouthfeel, crushed rocks, lemon and ginger, with an electric character. With some air and sitting in the glass it now exhibits the consistent profile of what I think of for CdC: tangerine and chalk, with brisk lime, and perhaps because of the vintage, pineapple and orange oil. Over dinner much later, retasted again with several small pours, the wine has softened and melded into something more seductive. Rich yet intense. Sweet lime, honeyed sliced green apple with fresh grated lime zest and a creamy profile with some wet rock in the finish. We tasted the 2009 within the same flight and the 2013 reminds me of the 2009 a lot. Gorgeous vintage for Coeur de Cuvee, but hey, this is the gift of Vilmart......retasted yet again on Day 2 from what was leftover. Quiet setting, no food, a good focus to really get one last impression of the 2013. This is really a lot like the 2009, which affirms my perceptions now 2 days in a row. The 2013 has that same pineapple/mint that crosses, in tandem these are delicious. Where the 2013 diverges from 2009 is in the weight--it feels lighter in the 2013, with the 2009 just a few degrees more seductive. Then, caramel covered green apple on a stick, drizzled with mandarin orange. I believe in the end the acidity of the 2013 is just a touch higher than 2009, yielding a wine that seems a little more coiled. Fantastic....and what the heck, still had another glass leftover on Day 3 and the wine is just cruising right along with everything the 2009 is, but the lime zest and structure that elevates its energy. Awesome stuff.

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  • 2014 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    March 2021 disgorgement. 60% Pinot Noir / 40% Chardonnay. Bright mandarin orange, with pears and saline. Great depth here, too. This is gonna age really well.

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Flight 3 (5 Notes)

  • 2010 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Grand Cellier Rubis

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    My last bottle of the pre-Emotion Rose, when this was called back at that time Grand Cellier Rubis. One immediate difference between it and the new iterations of Emotion is the sur latte time. The disgorgement on this 2010 was listed as November 2014, and in doing the math, puts this at about 3.5 years. In contrast the new versions of Emotion are between 5.5 and 6 years. So that is a significant difference. And, then we have the challenge of the vintage. So, what I find in this 2010 is a more candied impression, much as I did with the 2010 Coeur de Cuvee that we had earlier in the meal. The GC Rubis here is spicy and tangy, with lots of red fruits and red apple, and what seemed too like some wood still poking out? Would seem odd to find that after a decade but I sensed something like it. (over dinner my notes say 'cinnamon' so perhaps that is the marker I was sensing earlier). The acidity is what I would call moderate at best, finishing with a candied impression....retasted again on Day 2 from what was leftover. Gold/salmon in color. I think Ramon may have even called this wine last night flavored like Cherry Lifesaver--this seems accurate to me now, along with lime rind and some maple (again, maybe my inference to the wood yesterday). As it may be clear now with my note, there is a lot happening in the wine, with a candied, syrupy tone. My advice would be to open these now, as I don't see the gain in letting these age, which would differ from Rich Nanda's take (who has a smart palate FWIW).

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  • 2012 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Rosé Emotion

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    Disgorged January 2018. 60% Pinot Noir / 40% Chardonnay. I got kinda smitten with both the 2013 and 2014 last night, as we had all of those, plus the 2015, side by side. Somehow, the 2012 missed my attention, although I got some notes scribbled down, and I seem to have some leftover stoppered wine from the 2012 bottle to taste again later so that is good. For now, from last night's notes, I found the 2012 to be citrusy with plenty of acid. Has the expected brightness that is present in Emotion, too. Strawberry, raspberry, tangy with really good length. And, I even found some cranberry in the finish, giving the wine some good grip...retasted again on Day 2 from what was leftover last night. Good pop of CO2 which held well. More pink then salmon, both are adding color. Wow, seductive. The acid in this vintage is more relaxed, it's more on an equal, even deferring position with the fruit. This works because the fruit is spot on. Peach/nectarine (this is what the acidity reminds me of, along with of course, lime), strawberry, green apple and tangerine. The 2012 seems really seductive to me right now, in balance and drinking great--it's hard to not keep pouring an ounce after an ounce and just wonder why the glass keeps emptying!

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  • 2013 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Rosé Emotion

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    March 2020 disgorgement. 60% Pinot Noir / 40% Chardonnay. Pinkish salmon color, zingy but just a little less electric than the 2014 that I sampled right alongside it, both at about 67f. It has the same chalky impression of the 2014. Concentrated green apple, orange zest, strawberry pastry and red apple. Then, we retasted with the group over dinner, several hours later, this really put on some big-time deliciousness. In fact, one of my WOTN. The concentration and flavor depth here is delicious, with good citrus, slate, all well balanced in a coat of raspberry compote, zesty and bright. This, and the 2013 Coeur de Cuvee, are both showing some high-class stuff right now.

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  • 2014 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Rosé Emotion

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    April 2021 disgorgement. 60% Pinot Noir, 40% Chardonnay. When first opened, this was room temp (67f). It's a little darker than the 2013. Stuffed with power and concentration. Citrusy and spicy, with a chalky finish and power. Flavors of golden apple with some honeyed edges, along with tangy pineapple. Later with dinner and with the ability to retaste a few more times, this gives me a little licorice in the aromatic. Plenty of raspberry and fresh lime zest that sits within a nice spine of structure. In the finish, there is both some toffee and tart strawberry and raspberry jam. As you might infer from my note here, there is a lot going on in the wine and it would be instructive to be able to retaste this again once more but the bottle went home with one of other smart palates. Like the 2014 Coeue de Cuvee, there is lots of life here and runway ahead.

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  • 2015 Vilmart & Cie Champagne Premier Cru Rosé Emotion

    France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru

    February 2022 disgorgement. 60% Pinot Noir / 40% Chardonnay. When I opened this up earlier in the afternoon to taste it, my early impressions were neutral to positive. I found the wine to be solidly fruit-centric, meaning that was the core way the wine was showing, without the usual Emotion energy and cut. Cantaloupe, kumquat, juicy red fruit and juicy apple. Well, fruity. Then, we used the same bottle for the larger tasting over dinner. Many of us at the table had a hard time with this vintage. The wine seems to be one-noted, round but lacks balance with astringence. It's hard to think of a Vilmart Emotion showing like this but I am writing what I sensed. I have another bottle, I plan to open it when I finally get an offer on this 2015 and then I'll see what I find (we got these current bottles from Saratoga in NY). For sure, without question, the 2013 and 2014 are far outclassing the 2015 now, which at this time drinks with some disappointment.

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Flight 4 (1 Note)

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