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Laherte Frères, “Les 7”

Champagne, France MV (750mL)
Regular price$99.00
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Laherte Frères, “Les 7”

Well over 99% of all Champagne vineyards are planted to three grapes: Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Meunier. It’s that simple. But what of the remaining <1%? Now you’re asking the right questions, and breathing rarefied air, too. There are four “forgotten,” or “heirloom,” grapes of Champagne, and a small band of producers have begun reviving them—but even still, these plantings and the annual productions they yield are far too negligible to get a reaction out of the general market. So, for now, they are exclusively reserved for the geeks, the history buffs, the thrillseekers, i.e., those who want to explore every inch of Champagne.


A great deal of credit must go to L. Aubry Fils for first embracing these rare varieties. Agrapart, Tarlant, and Benoît Lahaye also make some special renditions as well. But today’s “Les 7” from Laherte Frères may be the most distinct of them all by (1) containing all seven grapes, (2) undergoing a natural fermentation in old French barrels, and (3) incorporating a perpetual blend between the vintages 2005 and 2016. If you ask me, Master of Wine Jancis Robinson sums up the results best: “Impressively complete nose. Real depth and complexity. Very much a wine that demands attention.” It has ours, that’s for sure!


Like a Medieval plague, phylloxera decimated Champagne at the end of the 19th century and nearly exterminated four grapes in the process: Petit Meslier, Arbanne, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris. To make matters worse, when vignerons started replanting their vineyards in the early 1900s, these four varieties were largely neglected in favor of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Meunier. For decades, these heirlooms lay destitute, growing into gnarled forgotten beasts. Today, you must rifle through a sea of producers to find one who owns, let alone bottles, Champagne from these rare and scantily planted varieties. But they are out there. 


Laherete Frères is one of them. Having grown vines in Chavot-Courcourt since 1889, the family has completely mastered the nuances of their village’s many (27+) soil types, and in today’s case, the peculiar grapes of Champagne’s past. Today, the estate is run by Aurélien Laherte, a thoughtful and conscientious steward who farms his vines organically and, in some cases, biodynamically. Although owners of just 11 hectares of vineyards, Laherte Frères is a ‘grower-producer’ in scale and philosophy if not in name. However, they are technically classified as a négociant because they buy a very small amount of fruit from his uncle. 


In 2003, Aurélien’s father, Thierry, discovered a small cluster of these forgotten varieties in one of their old vineyards in Chavot. He immediately decided to replant that former plot “in order to create a wine...with the same taste as 250 years ago.” So, starting in 2005, he created a perpetual, non-sparkling reserve blend from this storied parcel. Base wine from every successive vintage was blended into this large reserve. In 2016, after hand harvesting and naturally fermenting the seven grapes in old French barrels, the resulting base wine was blended with 50% of the perpetual reserve dating back to 2005. The wine was bottled in early 2017 where it matured on its fine lees for two years. It was disgorged by hand and given a judicious four-gram dosage. Now with two additional years of bottle aging, it is primed for enjoyment. 


It’s not often you see a Champagne with the leading grape making up just 18% of the blend. What’s more, all seven grapes are distributed almost equally here, so this is far from a gimmicky wine—each variety imparts its own distinct characteristics. That said, if you’re looking for lush, toasty layers in your Champagne, Laherte’s “Les 7” is definitely not for you! This is a wild and resolutely savory wine from a terroir-coaxing master. You should serve this a bit warmer, around 50 degrees, in open-mouthed flutes, although I would personally opt for a Burgundy stem to introduce as much oxygen as possible. Once doing so, prepare to experience tense notes of white pear, red/green/yellow apple skin, fennel, crushed herbs, dried pineapple, acacia, honeysuckle, lemon and lime zest, smoke, and crushed wet stones. The palate is energetic, savory, and a touch savage, with a pulsing core of delicate orchard fruit and crushed minerals. It’s an eye-opening wine, one that should and will be appreciated by those looking for an invigoratingly refreshing panorama take on Champagne’s colorful past. Cheers!

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France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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