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Village - Grapes Grown | Chavot, Brugny, Épernay, Mancy, Moussy, Vaudancourt, Boursault, Le Breuil, Vertus, Voipreux |
From the terroirs of Chavot and Épernay, Aurélien Laherte produces a Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay) champagne in a Brut Nature, or zero dosage, style. Here, the vine roots reach 2–3 metres deep into chalky subsoils, precisely transmitting mineral salts to the fruit, which results in flavours both lively and briny ‘like the froth of the Atlantic Sea’, as Aurélien explains.
The average age of the vines is 35 years and grapes are picked only when perfectly ripe. Fruit is then gently pressed before undergoing alcoholic fermentation in barrel. Malolactic fermentation is partially allowed. Assemblage comprises up to 50% of barrel-aged reserve wines while zero dosage further supports the finesse and purity of expression.
The sophisticated label was designed by Swedish illustrator Hanna Albrektson, who has elegantly highlighted the aromatics in the cuvée (such as flowers and citrus) as well as possible food matches (such as seafood).
The perfume is delightfully plush in its offering of floral, citrus and shokupan (fluffy Japanese milk bread) aromas along with the heady sensation of opening a fresh packet of sultanas. Initially tense, flavours of ripe apple, stone fruit, persimmon and star fruit burst forth on the mid-palate in balance with a pervasive line of crystalline minerality. An appetising cuvée, Aurélien’s Blanc de Blancs stuns with its long, dry and briny finish that perfectly cleanses the palate for the next sip or bite of food.
Best enjoyed from the Lehmann P. Jamesse Grand Champagne 41 machine-made glass.
Freshly shucked oysters and triple crème cheese.
Laherte Frères was founded in 1889 in the small village of Chavot-Courcourt on the Côteaux Sud d’Épernay, in the south of Épernay. Initially growing and selling grapes to the local cooperative, the Laherte family steadily expanded their Estate over generations and began bottling champagne under their eponymous label when Thierry and Christian Laherte, brothers and sixth generation vignerons, became proprietors. Now, Aurélien Laherte, Thierry’s son, represents the seventh generation and heads the entire family Domaine, patiently tending to 11ha of vines across 10 different villages in the Côteaux Sud d’Épernay, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs.
All seven permitted grape varieties in Champagne AOC are grown over 75 plots that are farmed either organically or biodynamically. Each plot is meticulously vinified on its own, and 80% of the House’s cuvées are fermented and matured in wooden vessels. As a result, the growing repertoire of unique champagnes that Laherte Frères produces today are fascinating, undeniably terroir-driven and a devoted paean to sustainable viticulture in the modern age of global warming. The wines reflect an impervious civic duty and moral responsibility to protect Champagne’s future while preserving nature. As Aurélien humbly explains, ‘Nature [comes] first. You follow nature and you help’.
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