Laherte Frères was founded in 1889 by Jean-Baptiste Laherte in Chavot-Courcourt, a small village south of Épernay, on the border between the Côte des Blancs and the Vallée de la Marne. The house is a family business: in 2002 Aurélien joined his father Thierry and his uncle Christian as the seventh generation. He took over the running of the estate in 2005. In 2009 he founded the growers' association Terres et Vins de Champagne.
The vines cover about 10 hectares, split into 75 parcels in ten villages. Aurélien Laherte vinifies the wines parcel by parcel. He converted the estate to organic and biodynamic farming and works in a minimalist way in the cellar, with low dosage, spontaneous fermentation and little sulphur. The style is precise and texture-driven. He puts texture and origin above power.
Among the best-known cuvées is Ultradition, the multi-vintage blend of all three grape varieties and the calling card of the house. Les Vignes d'Autrefois is a pure Meunier from vines planted between 1947 and 1953. For Les 7, the house brought back old grape varieties it had discovered in earlier plots: Fromenteau, Arbane, Pinot Blanc and Petit Meslier. They are blended with Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Meunier. The wine is aged using the solera method. There are also, among others, Les Grandes Crayères, a vintage blanc de blancs, and a Rosé de Meunier.
