Lahaye/Benoît Brut Nature Champagne Grand Cru NV 1.5L

94 points Tyson Stelzer (The Champagne Guide): "(90% pinot noir, 10% chardonnay; 80% Bouzy, 20% Ambonnay; average vine age 35 years; harvested at 10.3-11 degrees potential alcohol; 2012 base vintage with 2011 and 2010 reserves; fermented in oak barrels; zero dosage; 6000 bottles). The ripe style of Lahaye works seamlessly without dosage, showcasing the excellent red cherry and strawberry fruit depth of Bouzy and Ambonnay. This conspires with barrel fermentation to infuse a full straw hue with a copper tint, yet retains excellent freshness of lemon zest notes and impressive acid line. It's all set off with complex notes of anise and nutmeg, lingering on a long finish of softly mineral texture."

94 points Bettane & Desseauve Guide (2024).

93 points Le Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France 2024 (La Revue du Vin de France): "The Brut Nature, with its strong Pinot character, benefits from the complexity and breadth of mouthfeel provided by the reserve wines. (2024)"

92 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "This particular bottle of Benoît Lahaye’s non-vintage Brut Nature was disgorged in November of 2018, so this probably makes this wine from the base year of 2015, as Monsieur Lahaye customarily ages this cuvée for two and a half years on its fine lees. It is crafted from a cépages of ninety percent pinot noir and ten percent chardonnay. The wine offers up a complex nose of apple, peach, bread dough, raw almond, a lovely base of chalky soil tones and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, complex and very nicely balanced today, with a fine core of fruit, good soil undertow and cut, elegant mousse and impressive length on the well balanced and complex finish. This is a fine bottle that is now drinking with lovely generosity. 2023-2045. (Nov/Dec 2023)"

Peter Liem (ChampagneGuide.net): "Lahaye releases his non-vintage champagne as both a Brut and Brut Nature, but the Brut Nature is by far the more sought-after by those in the know. Based heavily on pinot noir, which can account for as much as 90 percent of the blend, it always includes a high percentage of reserve wines (sometimes as much as 50 percent), and is typically a blend of four-fifths Bouzy and one-fifth Ambonnay. Lahaye credits the balance and complexity of his Brut Nature to the elevated ripeness attained by organic farming. 'In the past it wasn’t possible to make a Brut Nature like this,' he says, 'but after working organically we can do it.'"

Importer notes: "90% Pinot Noir and 10% Chardonnay, 80% from Bouzy and 20% from Ambonnay. Soil: brown chalk. Planting density: 8400 plants per hectare - Root-stock: 41B. Pruning type: Cordon Royat and Chablis. Average age of vines: 35 years. The parcels are vinified separately. Aged for an average of 30 months on the lees. 1 or 2 stirring of the lees. Bottled without filtration. Not all the bottles are degorged at the same time. No Dosage. No addition of SO2. 500 cases produced and 200 magnums."