F12A165F-04C1-4965-AEE9-F462D7C754D8

Maybe it’s quarantine madness or just the realization that we need to celebrate each moment as it comes, but I seem to have had a lot of bubbly in my glass of late. So when I saw that the June #Winophiles topic was “Unexpected Pleasures in Champagne,” I knew I had just the thing.

A Little Champagne Background

Almost all of us that drink champagne know that Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are the primary grapes from which it is made. And many also realize that Pinot Meunier is quite prevalent in Champagne. But what a lot of folks do not realize is that Champagne law permits seven different grape1 varieties to be used in Champagne production. In addition to the well-known Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier varieties, Arbanne, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris are also permitted to be used in champagne. Admittedly they make up a small percentage of total paintings at 0.3%2 but they are out there nonetheless. And given the small plantings, it is indeed special to be able to find these varietals in champagne.

NV Laherte Freres Les 7 Extra Brut, Champagne, France

When I came across the NV Laherte Freres Les 7 Extra Brut Champagne at a local shop here in Houston3 and learned what it was, I was intrigued and had to get a bottle.

NV Laherte Freres Les 7 Extra Brut Champagne

The wine is so named not only because it is one of those rare champagne bottlings that contains all seven permitted varieties, but also because the house is in its 7th generation with Aurélien Laherte at the helm. The seven varietals are represented as follows: 18% Chardonnay, 18% Meunier, 17% Pinot Blanc, 15% Petit Meslier, 14% Pinot Noir, 10% Pinot Gris, and 8% Arbanne. The Laherte Freres champagne is also interesting because it comes from a solera of sorts, with a continuous blend of each vintage since 2005. Each bottling is a blend of 60% of the current vintage and 40% of the solera. And the dosage is pretty low at 4 g/l.

As the varietals were pretty evenly represented, I could not say that one dominated more than the other. But what a gorgeous, balanced wine with fine bubbles and nice structure along with toast, hazelnuts, green pear, and lemon lime. Linear and taught with abundant minerality, depth of flavor, and a long finish. It is wines like this that keep me coming back for champagne over and over again.

The Pairing – Smoked Chilean Sea Bass

It’s grilling season and we put just about anything on the grill, whether it’s the gas grill or the smoker. A couple of weeks ago it was hot dogs with first level toppings paired with Sangiovese. Interestingly enough, some effin’ wine snob got all judgmental about pairing wine with hot dogs. Like really dude? People like him are precisely the reason I added my voice to wine. Drink your wine with whatever the f*ck you want! I said what I said. Anywho…

This time around, I was in the mood for fish. And since I’m borderline obsessed with the smoker (like I want to put everything on it), we decided to cook some Chilean sea bass on it. The fish was marinated for a couple of hours and cooked in an herbed garlic citrus marinade. And some buttah of course! It went into the smoker for about 30 minutes and was So.Darn.Good! Even better was that Thing 1 loved it! Every time I get a kid to love something seafood based, I count it as a parenting win. Thing 1 is also into chargrilled oysters and Thing 2 loves sushi and shrimp cooked in every way imaginable. At least part of my parenting is working out. Maybe…

Chilean Sea Bass with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Glazed Carrots

As for the pairing, I’m counting this one as a win. Chilean sea bass is a fattier type of fish with a firm, rich white flesh, and melt in your mouth flavor. Add in some citrus and butter and it’s the thing of champagne dreams. The racy acidity that we love about champagne was great at taming the fattiness and buttery richness of the fish. A successful paring all around.

The Successful Pairing w/ the Laherte Freres Champagne

Be sure to check out what champagne gems my fellow #Winophiles are popping:

  • From Martin: “Champagne Drappier’s Blanc de Quatre Blancs; A Taste of Champagne’s White Heirloom Grape Varieties” www.enofylzwineblog.com aka @martindredmond
  • From Cam: “Pour un Pique-Nique Sur le Patio: Roasted Citrus Tart + Jacquart Brut Mosaique” on Culinary Adventures with Camilla https://culinary-adventures-with-cam.blogspot.com/ aka @Culinary_Cam
  • From Cindy: “A Stroke of Serendipity – Discovering Champagne Louis Brochet Brut 1er Cru in London” aka @GrapeExp_Cindy on grape-experiences.com
  • From Nicole: “A Super Fancy Pants Grilled Cheese Pairing: Salmon Caviar Croque-Monsieur with Charles Dufour Bulles de Comptoir 6 La Benjamine 2.0 Champagne” on SommsTable.com
  • From Robin: “Champagne & BBQ, Chartogne-Taillet meets Rollin’ Smoke” aka @CrushGrapeChron at https://www.crushedgrapechronicles.com/
  • From Terry: “Champagne and Sticky Asian Chicken Thighs: Whoa!” on Our Good Life Www.terristeffes.com
  • From Jeff: “The Polar Opposite of House Style at Champagne Coessens” on “Food Wine Click!” https://foodwineclick.com/ aka @Foodwineclick
  • From Susannah: “Falling In Love with Champagne: My First Visit to a Wine region” on avvinare
  • From Sue and Gwendolyn: “Two Days of Unexpected Pleasures in Champagne: Day One” and “Day Two” on winepredator.com aka @artpredator

  1. OK, the law technically permits three grape varieties: Arbanne, Petit Meslier and Pinot, but the Pinot family includes Noir, Blanc, Gris, Meunier, and Chardonnay.
  2. Per the Champagne Bureau.
  3. I purchased my bottle at Camerata at Paulie’s here in Houston for $140.

10 Comments

  1. robincgc
    4 years ago

    I have been diving into bubbles lately too. I think we all need them!
    I’m with you on wine snobs and buttah!
    I will be looking for the Laherte Freres Les 7. I love that it has all 7 varieties.
    Lastly, your seabass looks and sounds amazing. I’m not big into grilling or smoking (too short a season for that stuff here in Vegas), but you are making me want a smoker just to make this!

    Reply
    1. Kat
      4 years ago

      Yes, bubbles are certainly the spice of life. And I’m surprised you guys don’t have a lengthy outdoor season in Vegas.

      Reply
  2. Susannah Gold
    4 years ago

    I love the story about the wine you choose. I had forgotten that four additional varieties can be used in the blend. I wouldn’t be able to pick out the flavors either I’m sure. Hot dogs are among my favorite foods. I pair them with everything I like to drink from Champagne to my own wine which is not great. This weekend with New York wines. I’ve had it with wine snobbery and I am glad you have too. Cheers.

    Reply
    1. Kat
      4 years ago

      Yes, snobbery needs to be gone from wine once and for all. I’m so over it.

      Reply
  3. Nicole Ruiz-Hudson
    4 years ago

    This sounds like such a cool bottle. I love looking into the lesser know grapes of Champers when I get the chance, and I don’t think I’ve had the chance to try this one. I’d considered Tarlant’s BAM! cuvee which uses 3 of the lesser known grapes for this, but couldn’t find a bottle just now. I’m also quite jealous of your smoker! The sea bass looks awesome!

    Reply
    1. Kat
      4 years ago

      These wines are certainly ones we don’t get to try very often.

      Reply
  4. MARTIN D REDMOND
    4 years ago

    This champagne though! Great minds! It sounds like a bottle I would enjoy, and I love that they are in the 7th generation. A few similarities between this and the Drappier I chose (they also have a solera like system). Are they in the Aube too?

    Reply
    1. Kat
      4 years ago

      Yes, I saw that we were on the same wavelength and definitely think you’d enjoy this one. And Laherte Freres is is Epernay I believe.

      Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Posts You Might Like

Keep in Touch

Previous Next
Close
Test Caption
Test Description goes like this

Keep In Touch

Subscribe for updates from
The Corkscrew Concierge