Laherte Frères Blanc De Blancs Brut Nature

Laherte Frères champagnes are crackers and the Laherte Freres Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature is just about my fave.  When I first discovered this champagne, you could buy it for about $30 less a bottle than you can now and you had to work to find it – it was only stocked in specialty wine shops.

Now you can get it in Dan Murphy’s and prices have gone way up but…

1. the quality for this price is still very good. Blanc de Blancs are generally priced higher than blends and this is a rare, small production.  
2. This is without a doubt my go-to blanc de blancs. I pretty much always have a bottle of Laherte Freres Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature in my wine fridge.

Laherte Freres Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature Tasting Notes 

Bubble & Flute Review 

In a few words… Mick Fanning. OK – that might be a bit obtuse. Try this… Salty apples.

In a few sentences… It is deliciously dry, vibrant, acidic, and has a salty minerality you simply can’t miss. It’s so fresh and salty and chalky you may never want to drink Brut champagne again. 

Moment or mood… I have affectionately nicknamed the Laherte Freres Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature my Mick Fanning champagne. A few years ago, I wrote a post about my top five fantasy dates for Valentine’s Day and the champagnes we’d pop. I have a bit of a Mick Fanning crush so he was on my list and I paired him with the Laherte Freres Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature. It’s a blanc de blancs (so it’s 100% chardonnay) and Brut Nature means there is no sugar added so it’s dry, fresh, salty and chalky, a surfie champagne for sure. Even without Mick Fanning, this champagne at sunset on the beach with fish and chips …. GOLD!  

Where to buy it… Dan Murphy’s for about $110 a bottle. When I first wrote about this champagne three years ago (when I paid just $79 for it!!!)… this is what I wrote about it…

“I just can’t see that this will last… stock will evaporate or prices will go up, so make like Nike and just do it. And give yourself the gift of bloody good champagne with this Laherte Freres Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature.”  Marnie Nichols, 2019

I am like a Champagne oracle!

*Bubble & Flute Champagne Style – Fresh & Crisp AND Bold & Adventurous

Wine Expert Reviews 

Antonio Galloni – Vinous (November 2020) – The NV Brut Nature Blanc de Blancs marries power with energy to a degree I have not seen before here. In this edition, the Brut Nature is decidedly powerful and broad, with less of the tension seen in some previous releases. It’s as if all the Chardonnay flavors have been turned up to the maximum. Orange peel, apricot, chamomile and spice are some of the many notes that fill out the layers. The current release is based on 2017, with reserve wines from 2016 and 2015, all done in neutral oak. Zero dosage. Disgorged: February, 2020. Drink 2020 – 2026. 92 points

Tyson Stelzer – Sourced from the sites Aurélien considers best represent the personality of the estate, the aspiration here is to draw out the salinity of young chardonnay through vinification in barrels and lees contact. It lives up to his hopes, singing with the salty chalk expression of the Coteaux sud d’Épernay. Crunchy grapefruit and golden delicious apple fruit is marked by the charcuterie character of wild ferment in cask. It’s at once full and mouth-filling, with the creamy, buttery texture of two years lees age, and at the same time high-tensile, its youthful acidity exacerbated by blocking 40% of malolactic fermentation and zero dosage. It concludes with good length and energy. 89 points 

Tasting Notes from Nicks.com

Eye…A creamy white mousse sits gracefully above a pale straw coloured base that’s finely threaded by a very persistent bead.

Nose…Pronounced pear and citrus aromas stand out from the glass with baked bread and yeast lees characters then taking over. Finishes off with some lightly honeyed toast notes

Palate… . Sculptured mouthfeel with energetic acidity racing through the elegant yeast lees, toast and citrus flavours. Some light brioche and almond nuances are also evident. Finishes bone dry, tense and crisp with a refined citrus, oily toast, yeast lees and chalk tinged aftertaste.

Food pairings… So good with seafood. From sushi to fish and chips, the acidity and zero sugar can cut through the fat.  

The Technical Details

The blend – 100% chardonnay

Reserve wines – 50% 

Terroir – Chavot & Epernay soft clay and chalk

Dosage – 0 g/l

Aged – 2 years on lees 

Fermentation – 100% wild fermented in barrique, foudre and truncated cone vat; hand disgorged; 60% malolactic fermentation. 

Total annual production – 120,000 bottles in total from the producer across all 12 cuvées 

Read about the Laherte Freres ULTRADITION here.

Have you tried the Laherte Freres Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature? If you have let me know what you think! Or let me know what you are popping – post a pic and tag @bubbleandflute #bubbleandflute  #happychamper