Champagne Laherte Frères Petit Meslier NV Base 20. Disg. Sep 2022

Champagne Laherte Frères Petit Meslier is made entirely from one of Champagne's nearly forgotten heirloom varieties.

Petit Meslier is a historic crossing of Gouais Blanc and Savagnin, and it has been part of Aurélien Laherte's Les 7 cuvée for close to twenty vintages. It yields poorly, which is why the region abandoned it, but the family values its ability to hold acidity even in warm years. Between 2018 and 2023 Laherte established a mid-slope vineyard on the clay and limestone soils of Chavot, propagated by massale selection from the estate's oldest Meslier vines, and this is the third release from that project. The grapes are pressed in the family's antique Coquard press and the juice ferments naturally in old barrel. The wine spends six months on lees in barrel and a further eighteen months sur lattes, and was disgorged by hand with 2 g/L dosage.

Drinking now and worth two or three years more. Serve at about 8°C with grilled fish, charcuterie or a soft cheese.