In Champagne, 1996 was not just the greatest vintage of its decade; it was one of the greatest years of our lifetimes. And the defining examples have become very expensive.
 
Today, even the regular millésimes run three figures per bottle. As for the prestige cuvées, the sky’s the limit, particularly for the rarest ones. Finding one of any distinction for $200 or less is becoming nearly impossible.
 
And then there are those that are not available at any price. A case in point is the top wine from one the most coveted of growers, the 1996 Vilmart Cœur de Cuvée. Between Vilmart’s cult following, Cœur de Cuvée’s 350-case production and a historic vintage, it has vanished from the market. 
 
So, when we unearthed a small cache of this brilliant Champagne in Europe we jumped on it. If you love Champagne that is not only great, but rare and unique, you should too.
 
Cult Star
Founded in 1890, Vilmart is an old-timer among grower Champagne domaines, and has always made their wines exclusively from the fruit of their own vines. But they didn’t gain fame until fifth-generation vigneron Laurent Champs took charge in 1989.
 
Since then, he’s made Vilmart a Champagne superstar through wines that, as Antonio Galloni has written, are “characterized by an extreme sense of elegance, clarity and definition.” The keys are fine terroirs and Champs’ unwavering perfectionism in both farming and winemaking.
 
Vilmart’s tiny 11 hectares—all in the premier cru villages of Rilly-la-Montagne and neighboring Villers-Allerand, in the heart of the Montagne de Reims—are painstakingly farmed by the Ampelos Charter of organic cultivation.
 
In the cellar, Laurent’s skillful use of oak barrels for fermentation and aging, while blocking the malolactic fermentation, result in stunning expressions of their terroirs more profound than many a Grand Cru.
 
From the Heart
And the most profound of all is Vilmart’s cuvée de prestige, Cœur de Cuvée. The tiny amount of juice that goes into Cœur de Cuvée is both the source for its name and the reason for its rarity. Just 800 liters—the Cœur or “heart”—from the middle of the single pressing from Vilmart’s oldest, best placed vines are bottled.
 
A blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir, from 55-year-old vines in the Rilly lieu-dit of Blanches Voies, the 1996 Cœur de Cuvée is one those Champagnes that stops you in your tracks, a marvel of richness, nuance and refinement.
 
But the word on Vilmart has long been out and, given how little of the 1996 Cœur de Cuvée was made, it’s no surprise it rarely surfaces.