Laherte - Chavot

Chavot is 4km south west of Epernay, perched high on the hill with a magnificent view of the valley. In 1889 Jean Baptiste Laherte created his own label. Thierry Laherte and his brother Christian are passionate vignerons with soils in both chalk, which is good for Chardonnay and pebbly clay which is perfect for Pinot Meunier. This little valley is only a hop away from the Cote des Blancs – and shares many similarities – but is classed as Marne Valley which means you can grow some Pinot Meunier! Since 1999 Thierry has slowly been using more and more oak barriques to add complexity and weight to his range of Champagnes. They have a great array of 8 ha of vineyards (mostly old vines)  spread across Le Breuil, Chavot, Chouilly, Vertus, Moussy and Epernay. Also they only use reconstituted grape must – RCGM for the dosage - not sugar. Thierry is in the process of growing a bio-dynamic vineyard just up the hill from the cellars. This is planted with some new grape varieties – Arbanne, Petit Mesliers, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. We tasted the base wine of old varieties for this new cuvée. Very unique with great minerality and freshness. This will be released maybe in 2009 .

This will be a fascinating cuvée in time. Other cuvées include an intense single vineyard Chardonnay from Vertus and also his new single vineyard old vines oak fermented Pinot Meunier saignée rosé!  Thierry’s son – Aurelien – now works in the family business and is the catalyst for expanding the terroir boundaries. The family runs a wonderful 3 level Gite – self serviced  holiday accommodation – Gite Mont Felix - which is just about always booked out by Belgians! Also they have finally renovated a new Gite next to his bio-dynamic vineyard. This is quite luxurious and can house up to a dozen people. This years cuvées are even better and can no longer be ignored.

The Champagnes of Thierry Laherte are an absolute bargain for the price – but are no longer undiscovered. Stephen Tanzer gives a glowing review to the entire range – so availability may get scarce and prices may rise. Damn! Thierry’s real problem is that Chavot is regarded as an unfashionable village – being a stones throw away from Cramant means that tourists and media flock to the popular villages and bypass him. But as the word spreads – Chavot will achieve the fame that it deserves.

The global climate change is an issue that concerns all the young vignerons.

The vital essence that drives great Champagne is the underlying acid structure. This gives the wine elegance, finesse, purity and creaminess. Research into the older varieties may uncover information about varieties that produce more acid, thrive in different soils and yield less. Also Aurelien is already blocking malo-lactic fermentation for certain parts of the cuvées – to preserve freshness and vivacity.