Benoit Lahaye has made small quantities of his delicious Champagne from his family vines, which he has farmed without pesticides since the mid-'90s. He began to go organic in 1996, has been certified organic since 2007 and biodynamic since 2010. Today he plows with a horse.It all sounds almost like a cliché of the natural winemaker. But the wines are anything but clichéd. The farming has allowed him to achieve ripeness levels that he says would otherwise be impossible. That in turn allows him to make wines lower in dosage (and even Brut Nature) that express themselves purely without sacrificing any of their pretty charm.In fact, while the Lahaye wines are beautiful expressions of their Montagne de Reims terroir, they also have the spectacularly drinkable character that the French call "buvabilité." These are wines that you could contemplate, but will find yourself drinking. Very happily.Of course, quantities are very small. With only 4.8 hectares and a huge following in France we get very little Lahaye in America. And we seem to be getting less all the time. But they are absolutely wines worth searching out.
Professional Reviews
Robert Parker
Details
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Grape Variety
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Vintage
NV
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Size
750ml
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Farming Practice
Organic
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Style
Elegant , Juicy , Minerally
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Sweetness
Dry
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Body
Medium Bodied
Champagne
Champagne boasts some of the world’s greatest luxury brands with Krug, Cristal and, of course, Dom Perignon. But it’s also home to hundreds of small dynamic producers—farmers who grow their own grapes (often organically) and make (often with natural methods) tiny amounts of pure and absolutely delicious wine that reflect the individual personalities of their villages and terroirs. Toast with these wines, for sure. But also treat them like the great wines they are: taste, drink, explore!
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