These are the last bottles of this excellent client favorite Rose Champagne we have to offer at this pricing and this time around it has a nice note from John Gilman. Laherte Freres was started by Jean Baptiste Laherte, who planted vines in the village of Chavot in 1889. Since 2005, Aurélien Laherte, a 7th generation winemaker, has been running the estate and working sustainably in their 11 hectares of vineyards. Aurélien wants his Champagnes to showcase the vineyards from which they are soured, so he works hard to preserve that character. The dosage is kept low for this rose so that the vineyard expression can shine through, which is typically what we like to see in grower Champagne. The blend is 60% Meunier (white pressed), of which 40% of that is reserve wines from barrel, 30% Meunier with maceration, and 10% still red Meunier.
The dosage is 2.5 grams per liter. On average, The vines are 30+ years old and are planted on clay soils plowed by horses. After harvest, this undergoes a partial malolactic fermentation before aging on the lees for six months before disgorgement. It is a fresh and powerful style of rose that shows off Laherte Frere's Pinot Meunier's beauty, with a deep core of fruit and a complex mix of herbs, spices, flowers, and minerality. This rose has some serious structure for a wine in this price range but is a bottle that can still be enjoyed young. The Rose de Meunier is an excellent choice for the grower Champagne lover and is almost unbeatable at this pricing.
John Gilman 92 points! "Aurélien Laherte’s new release of Rosé de Meunier is from the base year of 2019 and was disgorged in January of 2023, with a finishing dosage of 2.5 grams per liter. The wine is quite deep salmon color, as Monsieur Laherte crafts this in a unique manner, with thirty percent of the blend made from grapes given an extended skin contact after pressing, ten percent being still red wine and sixty percent being meunier that is crushed and immediately removed from the skins to keep the wine white in color. The bouquet is deep and elegant, offering up scents of cherries, blood orange, a touch of rhubarb, chalky soil tones, rye bread and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a good core, lovely soil undertow, elegant mousse and plenty of vinosity informing the long and very nicely balanced finish. This is definitely a Rosé Champagne that is made for the table. (Drink between 2023-2040)"
Vinous (Antonio Galloni) 91 pts! The NV Extra Brut Rosé de Meunier is bright, punchy and super-expressive, with notes of cranberry, blood orange, mint, crushed rocks and dried flowers. Deceptive in its mid-weight feel, the Rosé de Meunier packs a pretty serious punch. The blend is 60% Meunier (white pressed), 30% Meunier with maceration and 10% still red Meunier. Dosage is 2.5 grams per liter. Disgorged: March, 2023. (Drink between 2023 - 2030)
NV Laherte Freres Champagne Rose de Meunier Extra Brut
NV Laherte Freres Champagne Rose de Meunier Extra Brut
These are the last bottles of this excellent client favorite Rose Champagne we have to offer at this pricing and this time around it has a nice note from John Gilman. Laherte Freres was started by Jean Baptiste Laherte, who planted vines in the village of Chavot in 1889. Since 2005, Aurélien Laherte, a 7th generation winemaker, has been running the estate and working sustainably in their 11 hectares of vineyards. Aurélien wants his Champagnes to showcase the vineyards from which they are soured, so he works hard to preserve that character. The dosage is kept low for this rose so that the vineyard expression can shine through, which is typically what we like to see in grower Champagne. The blend is 60% Meunier (white pressed), of which 40% of that is reserve wines from barrel, 30% Meunier with maceration, and 10% still red Meunier.
The dosage is 2.5 grams per liter. On average, The vines are 30+ years old and are planted on clay soils plowed by horses. After harvest, this undergoes a partial malolactic fermentation before aging on the lees for six months before disgorgement. It is a fresh and powerful style of rose that shows off Laherte Frere's Pinot Meunier's beauty, with a deep core of fruit and a complex mix of herbs, spices, flowers, and minerality. This rose has some serious structure for a wine in this price range but is a bottle that can still be enjoyed young. The Rose de Meunier is an excellent choice for the grower Champagne lover and is almost unbeatable at this pricing.
John Gilman 92 points! "Aurélien Laherte’s new release of Rosé de Meunier is from the base year of 2019 and was disgorged in January of 2023, with a finishing dosage of 2.5 grams per liter. The wine is quite deep salmon color, as Monsieur Laherte crafts this in a unique manner, with thirty percent of the blend made from grapes given an extended skin contact after pressing, ten percent being still red wine and sixty percent being meunier that is crushed and immediately removed from the skins to keep the wine white in color. The bouquet is deep and elegant, offering up scents of cherries, blood orange, a touch of rhubarb, chalky soil tones, rye bread and a topnote of dried flowers. On the palate the wine is vibrant, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a good core, lovely soil undertow, elegant mousse and plenty of vinosity informing the long and very nicely balanced finish. This is definitely a Rosé Champagne that is made for the table. (Drink between 2023-2040)"
Vinous (Antonio Galloni) 91 pts! The NV Extra Brut Rosé de Meunier is bright, punchy and super-expressive, with notes of cranberry, blood orange, mint, crushed rocks and dried flowers. Deceptive in its mid-weight feel, the Rosé de Meunier packs a pretty serious punch. The blend is 60% Meunier (white pressed), 30% Meunier with maceration and 10% still red Meunier. Dosage is 2.5 grams per liter. Disgorged: March, 2023. (Drink between 2023 - 2030)
