Read about grower Champagne estate Benoît Lahaye, for the need to know facts, plus which wine to try.
Region: Montagne de Reims
Village: Merfy
Grape varieties: Pinot Noir – Chardonnay
Vineyard area: 4.8 hectares
A passionate advocate of natural winegrowing, Benoît Lahaye has bottled estate Champagnes since 1996. He has been working organically since that time and became certified organic in 2007. He also uses various biodynamic treatments, and he’s one of the few growers in Champagne to own a horse, which he uses to plough much of his 5ha estate.
Nearly 90% of his vines are Pinot Noir, as befits his Bouzy terroir, and in his hands these create vibrant, complex Champagnes, combining the ripe depth typical of the southern Montagne de Reims with an energy and expressiveness derived from high-quality viticulture. Much of Lahaye’s production is fermented in oak barrels, using indigenous yeasts, although his Champagnes are neither oxidative nor overtly oaky in flavour. In fact, they are consistently slow to develop, typically needing either long ageing or plenty of air upon opening to show their best, yet they’re capable of tremendous complexity and intensity, as well as soil expression.
Wine to try: Benoît Lahaye, Brut Blanc de Noirs, Montagne de Reims, NV
Made entirely from Pinot Noir, this is a vivid, energetic Champagne, which shows the power and ripeness of the fruit grown in its southfacing vineyards… Read more here.
Address: 33 Rue Jeanne d’Arc, 51150 Bouzy, France
