Lahaye/Benoît Extra Brut Blanc de Noirs Champagne NV

95 points Le Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France (La Revue du Vin de France): "The Blanc de Noirs, made for aging, imposes its power on the palate. (2025)"

93 points Tyson Stelzer (The Champagne Guide): "(tasted in 2023 in France; 2019 base vintage; 100% pinot noir from Bouzy, principally from the parcels Vaux-Betins and Raies Tortues, in conversion to organics; 30cm of soil before the chalk; vinified in oak barrels; disgorged April 2021; 3g/L dosage). Benoit Lahaye has long been a master of bottling the essence of Bouzy pinot noir and this is an exemplar. Radiating a full yellow gold hue with a blush tint, it's voluptuous in colour, aroma and palate; a juicy style of red cherries, strawberries and mirabelle plums, with oak barrel fermentation contributing gentle layers of brioche, vanilla and crème brûlée, basking in generous dark spice. The signature chalk minerality of the village traces a long finish of fine chalk lift. This generous season is ready to drink now. (Edition VII; 2024)"

93 points Anne Krebiehl, MW (Vinous): "The NV Extra Brut Blanc de Noirs is a pure Pinot Noir from the Vaux-Bétins and Raies Tortues parcels in Bouzy, with base wines mainly from 2020 fermented in oak. Fresh cep mushroom evokes the purest forest floor, followed by pale but creamy red apple flesh. Fine, foamy mousse adds generosity and an airy lightness while a phenolic edge evokes both apple pip and plum skin, helping to define the contours of this gastronomic, salty, smooth and appetizing wine. Salty, clean-cut, rounded, pure. Disgorged: November, 2023. Drink: 2024-2032. (Mar 2024)"

Importer notes: "(formerly called Brut Prestige). 10% Pinot Noir from Bouzy ('Les Vaux Bétins' and 'Les Hannepés' plots with deep soils) and Tauxières, in an area called 'Les Argentières', with more chalk -- vines planted in 1960, 1980 and 1990. Planting density: 8400 plants/hectare. Root-stock: 41B. Pruning type: Cordon de Royat. The grapes from each parcel are pressed separately. No filtration. Dosage : 5 gr/liter (Extra-Brut). Dark-toned fruit is underlined by a stony minerality. Energetic and persistant through the finish. 666 cases produced."