Beaune & Beyond Presents:
Pierre Péters | Vilmart | André Clouet | Lilbert-Fils
Four Legendary Grower Houses | One Unmissable Champagne Experience
“The Wines of Pierre Péters & Vilmart are some of Champagne’s finest, although not its best known.”
Huon Hooke, The Real Review
“Phillip Rich was in town to showcase a range of wines that he imports in to Australia. Two things made the night so enjoyable. Firstly, the wines ranged from very good to spectacular…”
“If you get the chance to attend one of his tastings in the future, jump at it. I am sure you will enjoy the experience as much as I did.”
Barry Weinman on Beaune & Beyond
A unique opportunity to explore the quality and diverse expressions of Grower Champagnes.
Sunday February 23rd
Hosted by: Lachlan Cuffe, National Sales Manager at Beaune and Beyond
Lunch: 12-3pm, 12 Champagnes with 4 Courses, $245
Masterclass: 4:00-6pm, 12 Champagnes with nibbles, $135
Dinner: 6:30pm, 12 Champagnes with 4 Courses, $245
Be the first to experience the new releases, purchase your tickets via the buttons below.
What Makes Grower Champagnes Special?
Grower Champagnes are the hidden gems of the Champagne world. Unlike the large houses that source grapes from multiple vineyards, grower-producers craft Champagne exclusively from their own vineyards, ensuring a deep connection between the winemaker and the terroir. These small-scale producers take pride in expressing the unique character of their land, resulting in artisanal wines with distinct personalities.
What makes Grower Champagnes special? They offer a rare opportunity to taste Champagne that speaks of place—each bottle tells the story of a vineyard, a family, and a region. Often produced in small quantities, these wines are highly sought after by enthusiasts for their authenticity, craftsmanship, and individuality.
The Grower Producers on Show:
Vilmart & Cie
(Montagne de Reims)
“When I think of finesse in Champagne, Vilmart is one of the first names that come to my mind.”
Antonio Galloni
Vilmart & Cie, known as the "grower's Champagne for lovers of great Burgundy," delivers a distinctive style shaped by vinification in oak barrels. The wines are rich, complex, and elegant, with an emphasis on Chardonnay from premier sites. Highlights include their iconic Coeur de Cuvée, a benchmark for craftsmanship and finesse.
Pierre Péters
(Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Côte des Blancs)
"With a luminous elegance, both straightforward and tasty, the wines all express themselves ideally between fruitiness and minerality"
Guide Des Vins, Bettane & Desseauve
Pierre Péters is a legend among grower Champagne producers, crafting exceptional Blanc de Blancs from Grand Cru vineyards. Known for their elegance and longevity, their wines, like the highly acclaimed L'Esprit Millésime, showcase the depth and complexity of Chardonnay from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger.
Lilbert-Fils
(Cramant, Côte des Blancs)
Bertrand Lilbert’s wines have long been insider favourites, particularly the intensely characterful, clean-cut and aromatic Cramant Chardonnay, and the Perle – which follows a tradition in the village of reducing the pressure of the mousse by one third to give finer, creamier bubbles
Tom Hewson, Decanter
A treasure of the Côte des Blancs, Lilbert-Fils specializes in 100% Chardonnay Champagnes from Grand Cru vineyards in Cramant. These wines are renowned for their purity, precision, and chalky minerality, offering a stunning reflection of the terroir.
André Clouet
(Bouzy, Montagne de Reims)
“Readers who appreciate Pinot-based Champagnes will find much to admire here.”
Antonio Galloni, The Wine Advocate
“Many a critic and aficionado sees the Champagnes with the Cluoet signum right up front among the top ten in Champagne”
Falstaff.com
A master of Pinot Noir, André Clouet produces bold, expressive Champagnes from the Grand Cru vineyards of Bouzy. Their wines range from the delicate Silver Brut Nature to the opulent Cuvée 1911, blending the richness of Pinot Noir with a refined, traditional approach.
The Champagne List and Menu
1st Course
Lilbert-Fils Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Extra Brut NV, Our Price $117
Hailing from the villages of Cramant (60%), Chouilly (30%) and Oiry, and based on the incisive 2021 vintage, complemented by 50% of a perpetual blend initiated in the 1980s, Lilbert’s latest NV Extra Brut Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs was disgorged in May 2024 with a dosage of three grams per liter. Unfurling from the glass with aromas of crisp green apple, fresh citrus fruit and white flowers, it is medium-bodied and has a tensile personality, laden with bright acids and concluding with sapid finish. It will be even better in about three years and will offer a broad drinking window. As with all the wines in Lilbert’s cellar, it is vinified in tank.
91 Points Kristaps Karklins, The Wine Advocate (December 2024)
Lilbert-Fils Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Perle NV, Our Price $149
Bertrand Lilbert’s wines have long been insider favourites, particularly the intensely characterful, clean-cut and aromatic Cramant Chardonnay, and the Perle – which follows a tradition in the village of reducing the pressure of the mousse by one third to give finer, creamier bubbles. This hits a sweet spot with its pear, apricot juice and citrus oil intensity, fragrant with jasmine-like florals and rounded out by a third of the blend coming from a perpetual reserve system. Based on the 2019 vintage
92 Points Tom Hewson, Decanter (March 2024)
Lilbert-Fils Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Cramant 2017, Our Price $189
From two parcels of Chardonnay planted in 1936 in Cramant comes Bertrand Lilbert's small production of vintage blanc de blancs. Without the prominent effect of the perpetual reserve used in the non-vintage, the character of the year comes across strongly with a smoky, toasted brown bread and frangipane breadth quickly twisting into roasted lemon, fresh clementines and kiwi – it's juicy, joyous and punchy, needs some time to settle and smoothen out. Full of natural tension and verve, this is a blanc de blancs of considerable character in a year which occasionally excelled in the Côte des Blancs.
94 Points Tom Hewson, Decanter (March 2024)
1st Course
2nd Course
Pierre Péters Cuvée de Réserve Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
Brut NV, Our Price $113
Rodolphe Péters' extraordinary perpetual reserve of grand cru Chardonnay makes up 50% of this blend, coming into its own with the crispy, energetic, if rather uneven, 2021 base vintage as the other half. A beautiful toasted almond, fresh lemon syrup and floral honey nose flows into a palate where fruit and ageing characters meet in perfect harmony. There's all the follow-through and narrow, brisk energy of the Côte des Blancs here, chalky and tense, yet it melts into deeper notions of nut oil and sourdough bread with a silky, flowing mousse. Perfectly pitched.
93 Points Tom Hewson, Decanter (March 2024)
Pierre Péters Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru NV Extra Brut NV, N/A
A fresh and vivid champagne with a tight and lively framing of acidity and fruit. Medium body, pretty density and an energetic finish. Chalky and intense. 36 months on the less. Disgorged December 2023. 2g/L dosage. Drink now.
93 Points James Suckling (July 2024)
Pierre Péters L'Esprit Millésime 2019, Our Price $184
The year’s heat has yielded concentration and fragrance rather than weight, with lemon oil and Mirabelle plum framed in a compact, driven, yet polished palate whose firm core of acid will unwind beautifully over the coming decade as the aromatics develop further. Between the excellence of Pierre Péters non-vintage and the renown of its top offerings, the vintage-level cuvée can sometimes be overlooked, but in 2019 – one of winemaker Rodolphe Péters’ favourite years – it’s an absolute star.
95 Points Tom Hewson, Decanter (May 2024)
2nd Course
3rd Course
Vilmart & Cie Grand Réserve NV, Our Price $111
Vivid acidity creates a mouthwatering frame for the white raspberry, blood orange, salted Marcona almond and star anise flavors carried on the lightly chalky mousse of this sleek and focused Champagne. Lightly briny and lingering on the finish. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Disgorged July 2023. Drink now through 2029.
92 Points Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator (November 2024)
Vilmart & Cie Grand Cellier NV, Our Price $142
There's a vibrant buoyancy to this graceful Champagne, with the finely detailed mousse and mouthwatering acidity serving as a springboard for flavors of ripe cherry, tangerine zest and macadamia nut, plus fragrant notes of lime blossoms, ground ginger and cardamom. Long and minerally on the plush finish. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Disgorged July 2023. Drink now through 2034.
94 Points Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator (November 2024)
Vilmart & Cie Coeur de Cuvée 2016, Our Price $284
The 2016 Brut Premier Cru Coeur de Cuvée is derived from vines planted in the Hauts de Blanches Voies lieu-dit on chalky soils. Evoking aromas of pear, spices, white flowers, spring blossoms and lemon oil, it's full-bodied, sappy and round, with a deep core of fruit, bright acids and a long, ethereal, chalky finish. Slightly phenolic and with a pinpoint mousse, this blend of 80% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir was matured for five years in the bottle on the lees and released two years after disgorgement. This is simply gorgeous.
94+ Points Yohan Castaing, The Wine Advocate (October 2024)
3rd Course
4th Course
André Clouet Grande Réserve NV, Our Price $84
Bright golden yellow. Fine aromas of citrus confit, dried apple, honeysuckle and fresh nut bread. Elegant mousse, finely structured with very appealing minerality, fresh acidity of pomelo, creamy texture. Some blossom honey on the finish, balanced, good drinking flow. Versatile food companion.
95 Points Peter Moser, Falstaff.com (November 2021)
André Clouet Rosé No.3 NV, Our Price $104
A frank, generous and juicy but properly dry rosé champagne that has plenty of pinot noir red-berry character. Enough substance to easily handle the dining table. Long and bright, berry and citrus finish. 100% pinot noir, of which 8% was red wine.
93 Points James Suckling (December 2021)
André Clouet Grand Cuvée 1911, Our Price $169
A rich and expansive champagne with tons of mature aromas of dried fruit (apricots!) and candied orange. Teeters on the edge of decadence but has enough vitality to stay on the right side of that line. Plenty of textural complexity on the palate and a long, chalky finish that keeps giving and giving. Spot-on balance.
95 Points James Suckling (December 2021)