Champagne Benoît Lahaye

Gert Crum (Twitter and Facebook.)
Published May 14th 2020

We drank this on Dutch Liberation Day – as one does on such a day. Wonderful, delicious. The most striking was the deep golden colour. Actually, not surprising, because this is a Blanc de Noirs: 100 percent pinot noir from Bouzy.

But then you should know that other producers, and certainly most large champagne Maisons, decolourize their champagnes, if necessary, with charcoal, one speaks of charbon actif.

After all, champagne drinkers, generally want a pale wine. But with the decolourization there is also some deodorization and even some deacidification. Strangely enough, this is permitted by law!

Fortunately, Champagne Benoît Lahaye does not pursue such practices. At Champagne Benoît Lahaye, they work biodynamically (a member of Biodyvin) and ‘not because it is fashion, but because I am a wineGROWER’.

Located in Bouzy, Champagne Benoît Lahaye is a true family business.

Besides Benoît himself (53 years old), Valérie, his wife, and their two sons, Etienne and Valentin, also work in the company. And then there is another member of the family, horse Tamise. It is a most friendly family that produces excellent champagnes.

This Blanc de Noirs is based on 2016 and was disgorged in November 2019 – the wine spent over three years on its lees, Lahaye maintains a minimum period of 24 months – and has a dosage of 3.5 gr/l. It has a fine, elegant nose with pure fruit and a very attractive taste with many fine fruit tones. An expressive champagne of a high standard.

Benoît Lahaye is of course to be found in my book ‘Champagne – The Future Uncorked’.