Tag Archives: Laherte Frères

Holiday wine gift guide 2022

wine racks at a storeThe Wine Curmudgeon’s holiday wine gift guide 2022 — value, value, and more value

Once again this year, the WC received the same sort of news releases for holiday season wine gifts — lots of overpriced items that hardly anyone actually needs. That means you, Yeti wine cooler.  Plus, and as always, lots and lots of plus for the Coravin opener, which begs the question: How many Coravins does one person have to have?

Which doesn’t those of us much good who want quality and value, as well as a gift we will enjoy. Which brings us to the blog’s 2022 holiday wine gift guide. As always, keep the blog’s wine gift buying guidelines in mind:

• Give the gift of the blog, and save the WC from all that Substack subscription advice.  One year of the newsletter at 20 percent off, just $56. Click this link to send a gift subscription. Use the email address of the person getting the subscription where it asks for an email, add a credit card, and they’ll get the $10 Hall of Fame, the Cheap Wine of the Year, and all of the rest — plus the rants and analysis that have made the blog what it is.

• Windows on the World, 35th edition ($21): There are probably a trillion wine books, including mine (which is almost out of print). But the Zraly is almost certainly the best overall look at wine and how to make sense of it. I own a couple of editions, and it has been the textbook for most of the college wine classes I have taught. And if it seems like I recommend it regularly, that’s because it’s that good.

• The Language of Yes Syrah 2020 ($40, sample, 13.9%) is a collaboration between Randall Grahm, who is about as iconoclast as wine gets, and E&J Gallo, which isn’t. Ever. In any way. Hence, it’s an interesting and well-made wine that doesn’t taste particularly a Randall Grahm wine, and especially a syrah. Remember this? Instead, it’s less meaty, but fruitier (black fruits) and more rich. And, because it is what it is, it has received high praise from the Winestream Media. That’s something that doesn’t always happen with Grahm wines.

• Yes, wine glasses seem sort of cliched — until yours break and you need new ones And then they’re expensive and confusing.  But a company called made-in has quality glasses — four red and four white for $69.

Photo:”More Wine Racks” by Didriks is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

More holiday wine gift guides:
• Holiday wine gift guide 2021
• Holiday wine gift guide 2020
• Holiday wine gift guide 2019

Holiday wine gift guide 2021

holiday gifts
“That metal foil cutter looks super cool.”

The Wine Curmudgeon’s holiday wine gift guide 2021 — which, of course, includes things that aren’t wine

Do a Google search for wine gifts, and they tend to repeat each other — as if one gift guide borrowed from another gift guide which borrowed from another gift guide. Consider this waterproof Bluetooth glass holder so you can listen to tunes and drink wine while in the shower. It showed up in so many gift roundups that it’s sold out.

Which, of course, we don’t do here. Hence, the blog’s 2021 holiday wine gift guide, which includes things that aren’t wine. And, as always, keep the blog’s wine gift buying guidelines in mind:

• Steven Spurrier: A Life in Wine ($45): Spurrier, who died this year, could have been the most important wine writer in those ancient, pre-Parker days. If he had not held the Judgment of Paris, who knows how long it would have taken California wine to take its place in the world? But Spurrier was much more than a wine writer; he was also an important wine educator and leading wine merchant who owned a wine shop in Paris  — hardly something most Britons would do.

• Smith-Madrone’s riesling ($35, sample, 12.9%) is a wine that reminds me just how amazing wine can be. For one thing, California doesn’t do much riesling, and it certainly doesn’t do much well. But this one is a revelation, combining California-style fruitiness with the varietal characteristics that make great riesling so much fun to drink. That means lime zest, a bit of tingliness in the back, a hint of petrol, some sweetness floating around to remind you it’s riesling, just enough acidity to greet the sweetness, and stoniness in the finish.

• Regular visitors know that the Wine Curmudgeon is not much for wine gadgets; he’d rather buy wine. Still, there’s something about this metal foil cutter ($25) that strikes me as worthwhile. Too many bottles still have foil caps and too many of those refuse to come off with a twist. And, frankly, using a waiter’s corkscrew to remove the foil leads to cursing and cut fingers. So why not a foil cutter?

• Laherte Freres Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature ($50, purchased, 12.5%) is an amazing bubbly, everything that Champagne – the sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France – should be, and especially for those of us who prefer a cleaner, more minerally style.  One estimate gives it another 20 years in the bottle, and I wouldn’t argue with that at all.

And, finally — shameless plug alert! — give the blog as a gift: One year of the newsletter at 20 percent off, just $56. Click this link to send a gift subscription. Use the email address of the person you’re giving the subscription to where it asks for an email, add a credit card, and they’ll get the $10 Hall of Fame, the Cheap Wine of the Year, and all of the rest — plus the rants and analysis that have made the blog what it is.

More holiday wine gift guides:
• Holiday wine gift guide 2020
• Holiday wine gift guide 2019
• Holiday wine gift guide 2018

Expensive wine 147: Laherte Freres Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature NV

Laherte Frères Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature
Laherte Frères Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature/$46-$60

The Laherte Freres offers tremendous value for Champagne

Several months ago, The Big Guy called and said, “We have many reasons to celebrate. I’ll bring the Champagne.”

Which turned out to be the Laherte Freres Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut Nature ($50, purchased, 12.5%) – and which turned out to be a reason to celebrate all by itself. Given that even mediocre Champagne can cost this much, the Laherte Frères is an especial value,

It’s everything that Champagne – the sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France – should be, and especially for those of us who prefer a cleaner, more minerally style. One set of tasting notes calls the aroma “crushed chalk,” which seems to be a bit of stretch. Still, it makes the point about how mineral-driven the wine is.

The Lahere Freres is made entirely of chardonnay, so expect sort of lemon and green apple fruit, with the tight bubbles and almost creamy foam that’s the mark of quality sparkling wine. There isn’t much yeastiness, and it’s more dry than most sparkling wine (the Brut Nature vs. Brut designation). In this, the wine is incredibly complex and structured, and very young. One estimate gives it another 20 years in the bottle, and I wouldn’t argue with that at all.

Highly recommended, whether you’re celebrating an August birthday or want something for later in the year.

Imported by Victory Wine Group