2016 Benoît Lahaye Champagne Violaine

Community Tasting Notes (3)

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  4/27/2024 - Frank Murray III wrote:

  November 2021 disgorgement (as all of the past bottles have been, too). 50/50 Pinot Noir/Chard. No dose, and sans soufre. The aromatics on the reminded me of clay and citrus mixing together. Citrus peel, some red fruit (cherry?), orange that evolves to tangerine, apricot flesh and a cool pineapple. When cool and first opened, this is more lasered with a freshness that makes the wine feel leaner. But with air and some relaxing of the temp, the wine fleshes out, the finish really lengthens and a minerality arrives. I stoppered up a full glass within the bottle for tomorrow and I'm gonna give this another good look and see if I have the descriptors here nailed....

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  11/9/2023 - Frank Murray III wrote:

  Champagne Bookclub (served blind)--Rob (Water Grill in Costa Mesa): Served blind. 50/50 Pinot Noir/Chard, no dosage, disgorged November 2021. Second bottle this year, and of note, when I had the previous bottle I liked it so much that I went out and sourced a few more. So last night, we paired this with the 2012 Bara Comtesse and of course the contrast is striking. That wine is more generous, with a good hit of dosage, and this Lahaye showed more lean, austere. The juxtaposition blind of the two would inherently make the Lahaye appear lean, but in truth the Lahaye was lean, and I wrote that down. Early on, unripe pineapple and green apple. However, with air and time, the Lahaye adds weight, retaining the green apple and adding some orange citrus and some nice rocky tones. The lesson reinforced last night was once again for me...first, some (many?) zero dose wines can shut down when too cold and without air, but when allowed to cool off and get some air time, they can blossom. And two, context matters. We can judge too soon, too fast and what we judge within a frame matters, too.

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  8/17/2023 - Frank Murray III wrote:

  November 2021 disgorgement. This is the 50/50 cuvee, a parcel of Pinot Noir from Bouzy, and a parcel of Chard from Tauxieres which is on the western edge of Bouzy (Tauxieres is the reference). This is without sulfur and dosage. A slightly golden color. Yesterday when we first poured the wine is was very tense, was very discernibly tight on the palate. Today, that has transitioned to something more refreshing, a mouthwatering quality. For me it's the kind of wine where the soil, the ground comes through the wine, as if the soil has been liquified into a mineralized finish. Green apple is present, but then the savory acidity from the citrus rides over the top of it. A light cinnamon aroma is here. Sitting with the wine longer, the citrus leans over towards a pineapple, and not the syrupy kind that comes in the can, but a brighter, focused, less sweet version. What I dig about this wine is the presence it displays, with a density that allows it to fill in across my palate, carrying the fruit and the lovely refreshing mineral quality. Bought this blind, and this is worth a backfill, especially now that it's on special locally. A nice discovery!

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