2016 Laherte Freres Les Empreintes Extra Brut Champagne

Ordering a bottle of Laherte Champagne is like a sly wink to a seasoned sommelier: It’s an immediate signifier that you, too, know the good stuff.

Laherte is featured on the most discerning, MICHELIN-starred wine lists from coast to coast, from The French Laundry and Quince in California to Eleven Madison Park and Côte in New York. Antonio Galloni of Vinous counts himself as a fan as well: “I drink them as often as I can,” he said. “I can’t recommend these wines highly enough.” 

The simple reason we’re all lovestruck? Aurélien Laherte is making some of the most exciting wines in France, and his Les Empreintes is a signature bottling—a vintage wine drawn exclusively from two special plots in his home village of Chavot.

The 2016, from one of Champagne’s best vintages of the last decade, is a laser-focused masterpiece that marries gorgeous fruit, floral overtones, and a hint of toast with a bracing and compelling finish. As Galloni put it: “It is really unlike anything I have ever tasted.”

Aurélien Laherte is the seventh generation of his family to steward their 11 hectares of vineyards—and he’s one of the rising stars of the grower-Champagne movement. Les Empreintes is a 50/50 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay drawn from two vineyards in Chavot.  

The grapes are farmed according to organic and biodynamic principles and hand-harvested by Laherte’s skilled team. After a long, gentle pressing, the juice is fermented in used oak barrels. That’s uncommon in Champagne—it’s significantly more labor intensive than using larger tanks—and allows for the development of a rich, vinous character that gives this wine depth and resonance on the palate.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Sweetness
• Acidity

• ABV 12.00%
• Enjoy right away
• Now – 2040
• 50% Chardonnay50% Pinot Noir
• Serving temperature – 45°
• Cork