2015 Benoît Lahaye Champagne Grand Cru Brut Nature Le Jardin de la Grosse Pierre

Community Tasting Notes (5) Avg Score: 95.2 points

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  10/23/2023 - Frank Schneider wrote: 98 Points

  Super sparkle ! High end ! Need more

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  2/25/2023 - forceberry wrote: 96 Points

  This must be the most atypical Grand Cru Champagne there is: it is a field blend from an old (parts up to 90 years old) vineyard in Bouzy farmed biodynamically and planted with at least Arbanne, Blanc Vrai (Pinot Blanc), Chardonnay, Chasselas, Fromenteau (Pinot Gris), Gros Plant (most likely Folle Blanche), Petit Meslier, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Noir and "Teinturier" (Gamay de Chaudenay, perhaps?) with other possible, unrecognized varieties. That means that this is a blend of at least 10 different varieties containing the 7 authorized varieties in Champagne and 3 unauthorized ones, all harvested on the same day. The wine is fermented spontaneously with natural yeasts and aged for 10 months in old oak pièces and barriques on its lees. The wine does not list the bottling date, but I assume it is somewhere in mid-to-late 2016. Disgorged in October 2019, after a minimum of 36 months of aging. 12% alcohol, no dosage.
  
  Medium-deep straw-yellow color. Very characterful and complex nose with layered aromas of mixed fruit juice, some creamy notes of oak, a little bit of apple, jam, light toasty notes of brioche, a hint of pineapple, a touch of waxy funk and a whiff of exotic fruit candies. The wine feels remarkably vinous, concentrated and complex on the palate with a full body and dry, intense flavors of ripe citrus fruits and spicy red apple, some stony mineral tones, a little bit of toasty nuttiness, light woody tones, a hint of apple peel bitterness and a touch of exotic fruit. The voluminous, crisp and mouth-filling mousse feels remarkably persistent and the high acidity keeps the relatively big body of the wine wonderfully in check. The palate-cleansing finish is crisp, complex and remarkably intense with a long, bone-dry aftertaste of lemony citrus fruits, some nutty notes of slivered almonds, a little bit of savory wood spice, light mineral notes of chalk dust and wet rocks, a hint of tangy salinity and a sweeter touch of tropical fruits.
  
  I had tasted this wine once before - the 2009 vintage back in 2017. Looking back, I thought the wine had just taken me by surprise which is why I had rated it so highly (even though almost everyone agreed that it was the best wine in the tasting). Well, it turned out that even now, when I knew what to expect, this wine managed to blow my socks off. This is just crazy stuff with a very unique, sort of exotic fruit profile with good sense of minerality and faint woody undertones. Sure, the wine is pretty hefty and vinous for a Champagne - it ain't a delicate and zippy bubbly by any accounts. However, despite its obvious ripeness, sense of concentration and quite tactile body, the wine is remarkably precise, structured and mineral at the same time, showing remarkable sense of finesse for the size. It's very hard to say whether the wine is at its peak, close to its plateau of maturity or just steadily climbing up, but it is in a superb spot right now. A very singular wine I'd love to revisit as often as possible. At 95€ this wine doesn't come cheap, but it does offer quite a bit of value for the money. Very highly recommended.

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  1/22/2022 - adnorthup wrote:

  Disgorged February 2020, coming fully from Grand Cru vineyards in Bouzy. Pours a little golden, loads of green almond and apple on the nose. Wonderfully rich and sweet baked apple, with some brioche notes. Not fully oxidative or non-oxidative in style, it seems to bridge the gap, and succeeds. A delicious champagne.

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  2/19/2021 - Benoit Hardy Likes this wine: 94 Points

  dsg 02/2020
  
  7 grape varieties: Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier, Pinot Blanc, Chardonnay, Arbanne, Petit Meslier, Fromenteau.
  
  Lively and deep nose on chalk and citrus fruits. The palate is extremely mineral. It's chalky, with flavors of wet stone. Then the juice comes to take the top with a bright fruit, very pure, stretched by a fine acidity which allows the wine to be delivered and to unfold quietly. I thought it was going to be very straight, but it's already ready, the aeration gives it a winey touch, it is a supple champagne, comfortable and above all, multifaceted. The aeration will give it a very fine winey side, it is deep and balanced with a magnificent finish, a mixture of chalk and fruit which is distilled in a great and beautiful length.
  It’s really excellent and already ready to drink.

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  10/30/2020 - Voodoo_Champagne wrote:

  A very delicious nose, taste was not very complex had a sweet ending, I prefer Laherte´s Les 7, same grape composition.

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