With just 11 hectares of vineyards, Laherte Frères is a ‘grower-producer’ in scale and philosophy if not in name. They are technically classified as a négociant-manipulant because they buy a very small amount of fruit from an uncle’s 2-hectare vineyard, which Laherte farms yet does not technically own. The law stipulates that a Champagne house must own 95% of the vineyards used in production or they lose their récoltant manipulant (grower-producer) status. Laherte's vineyard holdings include plots on the slopes south of Épernay, where their home village of Chavot is located, as well as the Vallée de la Marne to the west and the Côte des Blancs to the south. The estate has been in the Laherte family since 1889 and is now run by Aurélien Laherte, a thoughtful and conscientious steward who farms his vines organically and, in some cases, biodynamically. He is fanatical about vinifying individual vineyard parcels separately and ferments about 80% of his ‘base’ wines in old wood barrels of various sizes. It’s not a toasty note that these barrel-fermented base wines contribute, since the wood is old: it’s more a spicy, earthy quality, and it lends the wine an added dimension.

“Ultradition,” a play on “Ultra Traditional,”  is Laherte’s base-level non-vintage brut. It is comprised of 60% Pinot Meunier (another contributor to its savory flavor profile), 30% Chardonnay and 10% Pinot Noir, with reserve wines from back vintages comprising an impressive 40% of the cuvée. Another style determinant is Aurélien’s penchant for relatively low dosage levels—we’re told that this bottling was given just 4.5 grams/liter of dosage (it could technically be called Extra Brut) and it shows in the racy, bone-dry texture of the wine.

The NV Brut Ultradition is a pale straw-gold in the glass with a fine, persistent ‘bead’ (effervescence). The aromatics are a melding of white cherry, yellow apple skin, salted lemon, damp rose petal, winter citrus, dried mushrooms, a hint of exotic spices and a serious chalky component. There’s a resolutely savory quality to the wine, with lots of stony minerality and good weight. It coats the palate then firms up on the dry and mineral finish, with a lingering floral quality. Even if I were drinking this as an apéeritif I’d be craving some food with it: some stuffed mushrooms, or maybe some funky Ibérico ham slices. Serve this cool but not ice-cold, between 45-50 degrees, in open-mouthed flutes or white wine stems. I personally like to open Champagne 5-10 minutes before serving, so the wine sheds a touch of CO2 and softens up a bit on the palate. It would make a great first-course pairing with a winter vegetable salad like this one, with earthy complexity being the common denominator. This is really a gateway wine to a number of other distinctive bottlings from this boutique producer—a new favorite in our Champagne-heavy rotation here at SommSelect.