Grower Champagne

N/V Les 7 Extra Brut, Laherte Frères Dry | White | Sparkling | 12.5%

Like Agrapart's famous cuvée, this uses all seven permitted varieties of Champagne. It throws a spotlight on the lesser known indigenous varieties like Arbanne and Petit Meslier. It uses a base of solera reserve (going back to 2005), which helps round out the spikier aspects of some of these high acid varieties, and weaves together an incredibly complex unity.

Drink to: 2029

2016 Les Vignes d'Autrefois Extra Brut, Laherte Frères Dry | White | Sparkling | 12.5%

This cuvée is made from Pinot Meunier vines planted between 1947 and 1964. The wine is aged in 4-12 year old barrels. It undergoes no malolactic fermentation and has just 3g/l dosage. This is a sensationally terroir-driven wine, and not easy to find. Aurélien Laherte is the seventh generation of his family to grow vines in the village of Chavot-Courcourt, just to the south of Epernay in between the Côte des Blancs and Vallée de la Marne in a sub-region known as Côteaux Sud d’Épernay. He and his family work 10 hectares across 75 parcels here and his distinctive wines have earned him a strong following. Aurélien is one of a group of dynamic young growers, along with his friend Raphaël Bérèche, who are bent on natural methods and achieving excquisite terroir expression.

Ready: 2021 - 2031