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The Côteaux Sud d'Épernay doesn't get the press the Côte des Blancs does, and Aurélien Laherte seems fine with that. His family has farmed this wedge of sub-region — clay over chalk, sandwiched between the Côte des Blancs to the south and the Marne Valley to the north — since 1889. The Ultradition is where both halves of that geography show up in one bottle: 60% Pinot Meunier (the Vallée's grape), 30% Chardonnay (the Côte's), 10% Pinot Noir. Seventy-five-plus parcels farmed biodynamically or organically. Forty percent reserve wines, aged in barrel. Partial malolactic fermentation. Three years on the lees before disgorgement. Four grams per liter dosage — extra brut, dry but not austere.
The label is a replica of the original Laherte family label. That's either charming or irrelevant, depending on your relationship to history. What isn't irrelevant: the Meunier gives the wine weight and texture in a category that usually leans on Chardonnay for structure. Red apple, dried pear, a hint of bread crust. The bubbles are fine and persistent, not aggressive. This is grower Champagne before the phrase became a marketing category.
The Côteaux Sud d'Épernay doesn't get the press the Côte des Blancs does, and Aurélien Laherte seems fine with that. His family has farmed this wedge of sub-region — clay over chalk, sandwiched between the Côte des Blancs to the south and the Marne Valley to the north — since 1889. The Ultradition is where both halves of that geography show up in one bottle: 60% Pinot Meunier (the Vallée's grape), 30% Chardonnay (the Côte's), 10% Pinot Noir. Seventy-five-plus parcels farmed biodynamically or organically. Forty percent reserve wines, aged in barrel. Partial malolactic fermentation. Three years on the lees before disgorgement. Four grams per liter dosage — extra brut, dry but not austere.
The label is a replica of the original Laherte family label. That's either charming or irrelevant, depending on your relationship to history. What isn't irrelevant: the Meunier gives the wine weight and texture in a category that usually leans on Chardonnay for structure. Red apple, dried pear, a hint of bread crust. The bubbles are fine and persistent, not aggressive. This is grower Champagne before the phrase became a marketing category.
