Lilbert-Fils
Manned by the quiet Bertrand Lilbert this house produces a firm, direct and focused wine that expresses the minerality of the village of Cramant beautifully. The vintage wines can be quite closed, truly firm with great finesse, however, with time they open up perfectly, always remaining focused, but acquiring notes of toast, rum and almond. His vinification techniques are fairly normal so his hardness comes from his vineyards.
Having recently experienced a vertical back to 1964 I feel these wines need at least a decade to start to offer the seductive notes that I look for in a vintage wine. Bertrand only uses his oldest vines in Les Buissons and Les Moyens, both in Cramant to create this magical wine which ages sensationally. His wines from the 1960s, 70s and 80s have few competitors! The 2006 was rather atypical with a bolder, fuller style. The 2007 showed incredible precision and a beautiful linear palate that I fell in love with. On release the 2008 was bold and upfront as you would expect but with great balance across the palate. A very serious wine.
Lilbert has long been a benchmark wine for me and continues to show extremely well. One of my favourites!
Village: Cramant
Region: La Cote des Blancs
Type: RM
Contact: Bertrand Lilbert
Cuvée De Prestige: Cramant
Parent Group:
Year Founded:
Hectares: 3.5
Bottles produced: 30000
Style: Hard, Chalky, Firm, Focused.
Terroir: Cramant, Chouilly, Oiry, Cuis.
Vinification: Pneumatic press. Juice settles for upto 24 hours. Vinification in steel and enamel.1% chaptalisation. Fermentation for 7-8 days. Malolactic. Racked before reducing temperature down. 25g/l sugar added for second fermentation except for Perle (18g/l). 4-5 years sur lattes in cellar under courtyard 7m underground. Dosage made of cane sugar and reserve wine. Wines kept for 3-6 months before release.
Viticulture: No pesticides. Manure. Copper and sulphur versus Mildew. Doesn't plow soil. Hand harvest. 70hl/ha yield.
- 3.9930567
- 48.9882761
Recent Tasting Notes from Lilbert-Fils
Lilbert Perle
Tasted:January 28, 2016
Score: 81-82
2009/10/11. D/g 7/15. 5g/ltr. Dry, soft mousse. Quite stern. Oyster shell. Salt.
read more…Base Vintage: 2011
Lilbert-Fils Cramant 2007
Tasted:November 14, 2014
Score: 85-92
Chewy, fresh, fruity. Vegetal lychee. This wine needs so much time! Very well balanced mousse and mid to late palate. Notes o …
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Lilbert-Fils Brut
Tasted:November 8, 2014
Score: 83-84
Lilbert-Fils Millesime 1964
Tasted:December 1, 2014
Score: 92
Tasted blind. Lovely aromatic sweet brioche nose. Toast. Light gold…so light. Amazing warm palate. Noticeable reduction in …
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Lilbert-Fils Millesime 1981
Tasted:December 1, 2014
Score: 92-93
Tasted blind. Deep straw gold. Wonderful sweet biscuit and toast nose. Dense. Treacle. Not a hint of oxidation. Pure mouthfee …
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Lilbert-Fils Cramant 1988
Tasted:December 1, 2014
Score: 91-94
Tasted blind. Yellow pee gold. Tiny bubbles. Sweet toast on the nose. Honey. Just starting to lose it’s minerality. Still so …
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Lilbert-Fils Cramant 1998
Tasted:December 1, 2014
Score: 89-90
Tasted blind. Lovely buttered nose. Touch of straw. Morel mushrooms. Very fresh. Delicate mousse. Minerality is still very pr …
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Lilbert-Fils Cramant 2005
Tasted:December 1, 2014
Score: 87-89
Tasted blind. Yellow gold. Touch of butter, burnt. Plain biscuit. Butter translates onto the palate. The mid to late palate d …
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Lilbert-Fils Cramant 2008
Tasted:December 1, 2014
Score: 86-95
Touch of biscuit. Yellow gold. Marmalade, apricot. Really fruity and upfront on the mid to late palate. Delicate toast notes. …
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Lilbert-Fils Perle
Tasted:December 1, 2014
Score: 83-84
Kept one more year in tank as doesn’t have space for all the bottles in his cellar! On Mytik cork. Creamy. Very delicate mous …
read more…Base Vintage: 2009/10
Lilbert-Fils Brut
Tasted:December 1, 2014
Score: 80-82
2010/11 60/40. Fresh. Notes of gooseberry. Honeysuckle. Great minerality. Nice level of complexity to the mid to late palate.
read more…Base Vintage: 2010/11
Lilbert-Fils Cramant 2007
Tasted:April 15, 2014
Score: 82-90
Quite focused lemon notes. Soft fruit. Crisp dry finish with grapefruit and salty notes. Quite closed but brimming with power …
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Lilbert-Fils Brut
Tasted:April 15, 2014
Score: 80-81
2009/10 base. Lovely aromatic nose. Succulent palate. Crisp Lovely balance of sugar.
read more…Base Vintage: 2009/2010
Lilbert-Fils Brut
Tasted:July 18, 2013
Score: 87-89
In magnum. Labelled NV but 100% 2008. Sensational. Creamy sweet. So luscious. Crisp. Great acidity and lemon crisp acidity.
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Lilbert-Fils Brut
Tasted:August 7, 2014
Score: 81
In magnum. Actually 100% 2008 disgorged early. Lovely stream of bubbles. Bright pose. Zesty bright palate. Creamy mid palate, …
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Lilbert-Fils Brut
Tasted:June 28, 2014
Score: 84
Lilbert-Fils Brut
Tasted:July 18, 2014
Score: 82
Lilbert-Fils Perle
Tasted:July 18, 2014
Score: 84
Light gold, definite chalk on the nose. Almost violets? Incredible creaminess. Dry lemon.
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Lilbert-Fils Brut
Tasted:May 1, 2014
Score: 83-90
Lovely vegetal nose. Lean. Starfruit. Melon. Pear skin. Lovely crisp chalk notes. Desperately needs time! Leave for another 5 …
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Lilbert-Fils Brut
Tasted:April 26, 2014
Score: 80
A crisp hard chalky half bottle before heading out for a night out. Very well balanced across the palate. Quite hard finish.
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Lilbert-Fils Cramant 2007
Tasted:March 3, 2013
Score: 85-92
Tiny bubbles. Lovely bright yellow. Floral nose. Light mineral notes of citrus and pineapple. Lovely direct hard acidic notes …
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Lilbert-Fils Cramant 2006
Tasted:November 3, 2013
Score: 85-88
Strong Cramant nose. Chalky steely and hints of lychee. Powerful almost too much with a bitter kick at the finish. Lemond rin …
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Lilbert-Fils Perle
Tasted:March 3, 2013
Score: 86
Vieilles Vignes from Cramant, Chouilly & Oiry. Tiny bubbles, slughtly confected nose.Lovely balance. With a long fruity f …
read more…Base Vintage: 25% 2007, 25% 2008, 50% 2009
Lilbert-Fils Brut
Tasted:March 3, 2013
Score: 82
Cramant, Chouilly & Oiry. Tiny bubbles, notes of lychee, creamy chalk that fades in to an incredible steely attack with l …
read more…Base Vintage: 60% 2008, 40% 2009