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Item Number: 6892
UPC: 0630646142118
Country: France
Region: Champagne
Appellation/AVA: Champagne AOC
Estate Grown Wine: Yes
Grape(s): 10% Fromenteau / 8% Arbanne / 14% Pinot Noir / 18% Chardonnay / 17% Pinot Blanc / 18% Pinot Meunier / 15% Petit Meslier
Type: Wine - Sparkling
Bottle Size: 750ml Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 12.5
Total Acidity: 7
pH: 3
Viticulture: Practicing Biodynamic
Soil Type: Chalk and clay with pebbles
Case Production: 250
This wine is made from lost grape varieties that Champagne Laherte Freres found in their plots. Their ancestors used these grapes in wines of the past; so they have nurtured these lost grapes in an effort to taste Champagne with the same taste as 250 years ago.
Grapes: The grapes are sourced from a parcel planted by Thierry Laherte in 2003 in Chavot. The parcel is farmed in a sustainable way and influenced by biodynamic methods. The whole work in the vineyard is done by hand and exclusively made by the Laherte family.
Winemaking Notes: Natural fermentation occurs in aged Burgundy barrels (minimum of 10 years). Wine matures for six months with regular stirring of the lees. No malolactic fermentation occurs. This wine is a blend of several years (solera system). Wine disgorged by hand with 4g/l dosage.
92+pts John Gilman
"Offering up a deep, youthful and quite stunning nose of pear, apple,
citrus zest,complex, almost salty soil tones and a floral topnote of spring flowers. On the
palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, young and very soil-driven, with impressive
complexity, brisk acids, excellent focus and balance, slightly coarse, youthful mousse and
absolutely stunning length and grip on the finish."
91pts Lisa Perotti-Brown MW
"Wild yeast ferment and a pleasant earthy / savory
character, nashi and waxy lemon, some brioche. The palate has crisp acidity and a nice
intensity of complex, savory fruit and autolytic notes. Long finish with some minerals."
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| Reviews |
Champagne Laherte Frères NV 'Les 7' Extra Brut, Champagne AOC
Rating: 92
Laherte’s NV Extra Brut Les 7 Disg. 1/2012 – latest
2
rendition of a cuvée he formerly labeled “Les Clos” – is unusual in two respects: first, it’s a solera dating
to the first harvest of these young vines in 2005; secondly, the vines in question represent a field-blend
consisting of 18% Chardonnay, 18% Meunier, 17% Pinot Blanc, 15% Petit Meslier, 14% Pinot (Noir),
10% Fromenteau (a.k.a. Pinot Gris), and 8% Arbanne. Lemon and grapefruit, cucumber and celery root
make for a bright, crunchy, metaphorically cooling persona. When mingled with oyster liquor, this makes
for a mouthwateringly savory, mineral-rich impression that really carries the energetic, brightly bursting
finish to extreme lengths. If you don’t feel as though you have been profoundly refreshed and your
salivary glands tapped out after a couple of glasses of this, then I don’t know what libation could have
that effect. While I can’t speak from any direct experience, my hunch is that this will be worth following
for at least half a dozen years.
- The Wine Advocate (11/1/2013)
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Champagne Laherte Frères NV 'Les 7' Extra Brut, Champagne AOC
Rating: 93
As readers may recall from previous reviews of this bottling, which used
to be called “Les Clos” after the vineyard it hails from, the Laherte
Frères “Les 7” is comprised of a blend of all seven permitted grape
varieties in Champagne: Fromenteau, Arbanne, Pinot Noir, Pinot
Meunier, Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc and Petit Meslier. All the grapes are
picked and vinified together, with a significant percentage barrel fermented,
and the wine is finished as an Extra Brut. The current release
is stunning, offering up a beautifully complex and youthful nose of white
peach, lemon, acacia blossoms, bread dough, a lovely base of soil, citrus
peel and a hint of oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied,
complex and beautifully balanced, with a rock solid core, very refined
mousse, excellent focus and grip and a very long, poised and classy
finish that shows a bit of roundness from the wood on the backend.
Superb wine. 2013-2030.
- John Gilman View from the Cellar (9/1/2013)
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Champagne Laherte Frères NV 'Les 7' Extra Brut, Champagne AOC
Rating: **
The multi-varietal wine formerly known as Les Clos is now composed of five
different vintages (2005 to 2009), blended together in a perpetual cuvée,
with the base vintage of 2009 accounting for two-thirds of the total. It's
complex and harmonious, its succulent depth of fruit pinned down by
bright, lively acidity. While the alpine, herbaceous notes of arbanne and
petit meslier are present, they're inseparably intertwined into the whole,
without feeling aggressive or out of place. This is perfectly balanced at 4 g/l
of dosage, and a year after its disgorgement in January of 2012, it's
expressive and energetic, showing a great deal of personality.
- Peter Liem's ChampagneGuide.net (2/1/2013)
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