2007 Vilmart Grand Cellier d'Or

The 2007 Brut Premier Cru Cuvée Grand Cellier d'Or is classic Vilmart. Bright, perfumed and beautifully delineated, the 2007 is wonderfully expressive and open. I don't expect the 2007 will be especially long-lived, but it is absolutely gorgeous today.

The estate's 2007 Brut Premier Cru Cuvée Grand Cellier d'Or is a relatively juicy, immediate wine with gorgeous up-front fruit to match its racy, inviting personality. All the elements are very much in balance. The 2007 has a gorgeous sense of weight and richness the 2008 doesn't have, at least today. With time in the glass, the 2007 acquires a baritone-like register that is highly appealing. This bottle was disgorged in February 2012.

(80% chardonnay and 20% pinot noir; disgorged November, 2011): Pale yellow. Intense, high-pitched tangerine and melon aromas, with exotic floral, vanilla and spicecake notes that expand with aeration. Stony and energetic but densely packed, offering potent orchard fruit and honeydew flavors that strike a deft balance of vivacity and power. The broad, smoky finish leaves spice and smoky mineral notes in its wake.