This is very similar to the bottle I had 3 years ago. There is a good amount of freshness and clarity to the nose with tones of peaches, nectarines, quince, apples, acacia flowers, shaved almonds, mint, toasty notes, warm bread, vanilla beans, and some biscuit notes just to round it all out. There is excellent complexity, though the depth is slightly lacking. The Medium bodied feel is fresh and lively with tart, high acidity that really persists. This is a winner as per usual. I love how transparent it is while holding the 0 dosage extremely well without it getting too steely.
This keeps rocking and I seem to keep coming across this wine every 5-6 months. Here's me complaining. This bottle was in a big lineup, so I wasn't able to dig into it as much as normal. But it still hits all of the notes I expect and love it to hit.
The nose is showing some maturity with a bit of honeydew and honey notes that strike upfront before leaning into nectarines, spiced pears, red apples, vanilla beans, biscuits, toast, apricots, and a touch of warm pastry notes. There is good complexity to the tones, but they lack a bit of depth and expression. The Medium bodied feel is deft and rounded with integrated, high acidity. This bottle has crested the hill and while drinkable, it does seem to slightly lack just a bit on the depth and finish. This is fully in the drink up category.
The vintage is apparent here as the nose is fragrant, but really lacks some definition and expression with peaches, white fruits, pears, vanilla beans, red apples, yellow flowers, and some saline. The Medium bodied feel is lithe and balance, but lacking in depth with tart, high acidity that is a little bit bitter. This was a worthy contribution to the lineup, but the vintage ruled the day. It's fine and is good for the vintage, but it certainly shows that I avoid 11s when and where I can while certainly not spending money on them anymore.
And this is back to where we want to be! The nose has a springlike take to it while showing off excellent depth and expression to the tones of peaches, spiced pears, jasmine, red apples, quince, meyer lemons, white flowers, pastry notes, warm dough, and a good bit of toast just to round it all out. The Medium bodied feel is well balanced and refined with mouthwatering and crisp, high acidity that really persists. This is lovely and a huge step up from the previous 2011. This is sailing along and still shows off a good bit of freshness to where this could easily last another 5-8 years at this level.
The nose is lifted and pungent as it shows off excellent balance to the tones of pears, red apples, baking spices, nougat, quince, kumquat, mineral notes, yellow flowers, and some toast. There is good complexity and poise to the nose, though it lacks some of the intrigue that the 2012 possessed. The Medium bodied feel shows off the balance of the nose along with tart, high acidity that has a lovely mouthwatering quality. This is in a great spot as it's showing off a lot of freshness and poise. It does lack some depth that the 2012 showed, but it's certainly a fun wine to drink and is in a great spot right now.
This is probably one of the most aromatic noses in the lineup! It's not that every tone is at a shout, instead they are vibrant yet playing extremely well together as they show off a lot of depth with peaches, red apples, pears, meyer lemons, kumquat, white fruits, warm pastry tones, toast, baking spices, vanilla beans, biscuits, and a touch of saline just to give some clarity. The Medium bodied feel is vibrant and expressive with tart, high acidity that really makes your mouth water. This is just rocking right now and it will certainly age for a while to come. There is a lot of balance and joy that it is giving right now.
There is a real freshness and poise to the nose that I find extremely attractive. Along with that, this shows off excellent balance to the tones of peaches, nectarines, apricots, pears, red apples, vanilla beans, white flowers, toast notes, biscuits, baking spices, and a touch of mineral notes. The Medium bodied feel is lovely and balanced with racy, high acidity that really persists. This is a rocking, young d'Autrefois. This feels like it can certainly develop with some age, but it is also a real joy to drink right now.
5-ish months later and this is still a joy to drink. I didn't have as much time to spend with this as I did in December, but it hits all of the exact notes in the way it did then.
NV Laherte Frères Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature 91 Points
France, Champagne
This is very similar to the bottle I had 3 years ago. There is a good amount of freshness and clarity to the nose with tones of peaches, nectarines, quince, apples, acacia flowers, shaved almonds, mint, toasty notes, warm bread, vanilla beans, and some biscuit notes just to round it all out. There is excellent complexity, though the depth is slightly lacking. The Medium bodied feel is fresh and lively with tart, high acidity that really persists. This is a winner as per usual. I love how transparent it is while holding the 0 dosage extremely well without it getting too steely.
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NV Laherte Frères Champagne Rosé de Meunier Extra Brut 91 Points
France, Champagne
This keeps rocking and I seem to keep coming across this wine every 5-6 months. Here's me complaining. This bottle was in a big lineup, so I wasn't able to dig into it as much as normal. But it still hits all of the notes I expect and love it to hit.
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2010 Laherte Frères Champagne Extra Brut Les Vignes d'Autrefois 90 Points
France, Champagne
The nose is showing some maturity with a bit of honeydew and honey notes that strike upfront before leaning into nectarines, spiced pears, red apples, vanilla beans, biscuits, toast, apricots, and a touch of warm pastry notes. There is good complexity to the tones, but they lack a bit of depth and expression. The Medium bodied feel is deft and rounded with integrated, high acidity. This bottle has crested the hill and while drinkable, it does seem to slightly lack just a bit on the depth and finish. This is fully in the drink up category.
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2011 Laherte Frères Champagne Extra Brut Les Vignes d'Autrefois 88 Points
France, Champagne
The vintage is apparent here as the nose is fragrant, but really lacks some definition and expression with peaches, white fruits, pears, vanilla beans, red apples, yellow flowers, and some saline. The Medium bodied feel is lithe and balance, but lacking in depth with tart, high acidity that is a little bit bitter. This was a worthy contribution to the lineup, but the vintage ruled the day. It's fine and is good for the vintage, but it certainly shows that I avoid 11s when and where I can while certainly not spending money on them anymore.
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2012 Laherte Frères Champagne Extra Brut Les Vignes d'Autrefois 93 Points
France, Champagne
And this is back to where we want to be! The nose has a springlike take to it while showing off excellent depth and expression to the tones of peaches, spiced pears, jasmine, red apples, quince, meyer lemons, white flowers, pastry notes, warm dough, and a good bit of toast just to round it all out. The Medium bodied feel is well balanced and refined with mouthwatering and crisp, high acidity that really persists. This is lovely and a huge step up from the previous 2011. This is sailing along and still shows off a good bit of freshness to where this could easily last another 5-8 years at this level.
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2013 Laherte Frères Champagne Extra Brut Les Vignes d'Autrefois 91 Points
France, Champagne
The nose is lifted and pungent as it shows off excellent balance to the tones of pears, red apples, baking spices, nougat, quince, kumquat, mineral notes, yellow flowers, and some toast. There is good complexity and poise to the nose, though it lacks some of the intrigue that the 2012 possessed. The Medium bodied feel shows off the balance of the nose along with tart, high acidity that has a lovely mouthwatering quality. This is in a great spot as it's showing off a lot of freshness and poise. It does lack some depth that the 2012 showed, but it's certainly a fun wine to drink and is in a great spot right now.
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2014 Laherte Frères Champagne Extra Brut Les Vignes d'Autrefois 93 Points
France, Champagne
This is probably one of the most aromatic noses in the lineup! It's not that every tone is at a shout, instead they are vibrant yet playing extremely well together as they show off a lot of depth with peaches, red apples, pears, meyer lemons, kumquat, white fruits, warm pastry tones, toast, baking spices, vanilla beans, biscuits, and a touch of saline just to give some clarity. The Medium bodied feel is vibrant and expressive with tart, high acidity that really makes your mouth water. This is just rocking right now and it will certainly age for a while to come. There is a lot of balance and joy that it is giving right now.
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2016 Laherte Frères Champagne Extra Brut Les Vignes d'Autrefois 92 Points
France, Champagne
There is a real freshness and poise to the nose that I find extremely attractive. Along with that, this shows off excellent balance to the tones of peaches, nectarines, apricots, pears, red apples, vanilla beans, white flowers, toast notes, biscuits, baking spices, and a touch of mineral notes. The Medium bodied feel is lovely and balanced with racy, high acidity that really persists. This is a rocking, young d'Autrefois. This feels like it can certainly develop with some age, but it is also a real joy to drink right now.
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2018 Laherte Frères Champagne Premier Cru Extra Brut Les Longues Voyes 92 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Premier Cru
5-ish months later and this is still a joy to drink. I didn't have as much time to spend with this as I did in December, but it hits all of the exact notes in the way it did then.
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