The Pioneer

The Lahaye family has been in Bouzy since the 1930s, but it was Benoit and his wife Valérie who transformed the domaine when they took over in 1993. Benoit was a pioneer. He went organic (achieving certification in 2003) and biodynamic in 2010, when almost no one in Champagne was doing either. He works his 4.5 hectares with a horse named Tamise, uses barely any sulfur, and has become something of a mentor to the younger generation of natural Champagne vignerons. Today Benoit and Valérie work alongside their sons Etienne and Valentin, passing along what they've learned.

Bouzy: The Quintessential Grand Cru Pinot Noir Village

Some villages in Champagne whisper their greatness. But there’s nothing quiet about Bouzy! 

If you have the chance to visit, you’ll feel it right away: this is Grand Cru terroir as obviously as Vosne’s mid-slope vineyards. It feels, well, grand, with sun-drenched south-facing slopes of “brown chalk” that give gorgeous views out over the valleys below. And you can taste that terroir in the wines: the ripe fruit and power, balanced by the lift and finesse of the chalky subsoils.

Lahaye's Blanc de Noir is very Bouzy-forward. It is 100% Pinot Noir from three parcels, Les Vaux Betins and Les Hannepes (both in Bouzy, with deep soils that give power and structure), and Les Argentières in neighboring Tauxières (where more chalk in the soil brings minerality and lift). The vines are old (planted in 1960, 1980, and 1990) and that vine age comes across in the wine’s depth.

Lahaye's minimal intervention philosophy works perfectly with this fruit. He ferments in 225-liter barrels with indigenous yeasts. No filtration, and the Extra-brut dosage of 5 grams is like a seasoning dash of salt to bring all the flavors to life without softening any edges or occluding any of the character. 

The result is a Champagne with dark-toned fruit (a rare descriptor for the category, but it speaks to Bouzy's power), underlined by stony minerality. It's energetic and persistent all the way through the finish. The French have a word for what this wine has: "buvabilité" (drinkability). These are wines you could contemplate, but you'll find yourself drinking. Very happily. Only 666 cases are produced.

The New Generation

Matthieu Godmé-Guillaume’s family has been in Champagne for generations but he only launched his own project in 2017. Before that, his family sold grapes. Now he works 5.35 hectares spread across three villages between the Grand Cru sites of Verzenay and Verzy: Verzenay itself, Verzy, and the Premier Cru village of Villers-Marmery. V.V.V. (the initials stand for his three villages) is his calling card and it's his vision of what these terroirs can create together.

He calls himself a "farmer winemaker" and practices what he calls "Slow Viticulture": organic farming following biodynamic principles; like Lahaye, fermenting on indigenous yeasts and bottling without filtration; also like Lahaye, the commitment to terroir transparency includes an extra brut dosage (4g/L here). 

But the V.V.V. is a very different beast, the product of three distinct terroirs coming together to create something greater than the sum of its parts. Each village contributes its own character:

Verzenay (Grand Cru) has long stood alongside villages like Aÿ and Bouzy as one of the reference points for serious Montagne de Reims Pinot Noir. The vineyards face north and northeast, which means slow ripening, high acidity, and wines described as "vertical and linear" rather than round and generous. Where Bouzy is all warmth and breadth, Verzenay is cool precision.

Verzy (Grand Cru) is made up of three distinct hills, each with completely different soils. The eastern hill (toward Villers-Marmery) is chalkier and better suited to Chardonnay. The middle hill is rich in silex (flint), extremely rare in Champagne and a relic of the flint quarry that operated here 200 years ago. The western hill has more clay, similar to Verzenay, and produces powerful Pinot Noir. Godmé-Guillaume sources from all three, capturing the village's full range.

Villers-Marmery (Premier Cru) is the paradox: an island of Chardonnay in a sea of Pinot Noir. While the rest of the Montagne de Reims is dominated by Pinot, Villers-Marmery is 98% Chardonnay. The vineyards face east and southeast (the same exposure as the Côte des Blancs), and the soils are pure chalk with clay-limestone. But the Chardonnay here is different from the Côte des Blancs. It's fuller, rounder, softer. Locals have even invented a word for it: they say, "sa pinotent" (it acts like Pinot). This Chardonnay brings lift to the blend without the steely intensity you'd find further south.

But even with Chardonnay representing 3/4 of the final wine, the Pinot Noir remains key. This Champagne is a wine of breadth. On the nose, the Chardonnay citrus notes are undergirded by earthy Pinot layers. The palate is fine and complex, with notes of red apple, stone fruit, and a firm mineral grip. This is what truly great Montagne de Reims Pinot can do when asked to support, rather than play the starring role: give its depth without ever stepping on Chardonnay toes.

We’ve been following Lahaye's wines for ages. We have laid some down and can tell you that they age as well as those mid-slope Vosnes we compared to Bouzy. But this is also Champagne we love to drink (when we can get it) and we hope you taste it soon too. Whether you open it for a decadent aperitif or pair with a chicken and mushrooms dish, it will be beautiful. 

Godmé-Guillaume's precise and relatively taut expression of the Reims terroir is also great as an aperitif or with food; it will be brilliant with lighter fare, raw seafood, or oysters. And while we haven’t tasted any with bottle age we’re pretty sure it will also evolve beautifully over a few years.