Walk into the hippest wine bar in Paris (or New York, or Los Angeles, or Chicago) and there’s an extremely good chance that you’ll find something made by Aurélien Laherte on the Champagne list. Though technically not a grower (more on that later), his wines check off every box that the younger, “cool kid” sommeliers love: Biodynamic and organic farming, native yeast fermentation, low dosage, a focus on individual plots and their terroir expressions, low intervention winemaking (for Champagne) with minimal amounts of added SO2, and a savory, vinous character. At the same time Aurélien leans heavily on his family’s 130+ years of farming and winemaking experience. That juxtaposition is what makes today’s Friday Bonus so deliciously unique. A sinuous, chiseled, expressive, and deeply complex blanc de blancs that will open even the most jaded wine drinker’s eyes. From two very small parcels–which is why we really mean teensy tiny production levels–so we have just a few cases, don’t miss this one.

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 Aurélien 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, Aurélien took over in 2005. He’s 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.

Aurélien’s best known, and largest production, bottlings are the cuvées he labels as “Ultradition.” These are the calling card wines for Laherte Frères, and they are likely the first wines most people encounter. Today’s extremely limited cuvée is a different beast altogether. The “Les Grandes Crayères” is a single vintage wine (2019 in this case) that is sourced from two miniscule parcels of Chardonnay that are very close to the family’s estate in Chavot. This area is known as the Coteaux Sud d’Epernay, and sits at the border of the two more famous subregions of Vallée de la Marne and the Côte de Blancs. You can find most of the allowed grape varieties here, but the vineyards for “Les Grandes Crayères” are on almost pure chalk, with just a dusting of clay topsoil. In other words, this is prime Chardonnay terroir.

As he does with most of his wines, Aurélien ages the “Les Grand Crayères” in neutral oak barrels before bottling for the secondary fermentation. After 30 months of aging on the fine lees, the bottles are disgorged and given a judicious dosage of four grams per liter. Yes, this is a very dry Champagne, but it is not in any way austere. The pristine, ripe fruit and the aging in barrels adds layers of texture and depth that play perfectly with the precise, mineral driven nature of the terroir. I would serve this in all-purpose stems for a more “effervescent” experience, or Burgundy bowls if you want to emphasize the vinous, gastronomic qualities. Either way you’ll be treated to an alluring array of aromatics: Yellow apple, lemon preserves, marzipan, honeysuckle, toasted hazelnuts, fresh baked pastry, fleur de sel, and a pinch of baking spice. Sure, you can enjoy this all on its own, but it really opens up with a plate of raw oysters or scallop crudo, or if you are feeling adventurous pick up some uni hand rolls, or make them yourself! No matter what you chose, this is a Champagne experience that you will remember for a very long time.