99 points, “This is a fantastic and refined Blanc de Blancs. So layered and complex, with lemon curd, chalk, hazelnuts, pastries, baked apples and almond croissants. Structured and tightly wound, with almost imperceptible bubbles. Delicious salty notes at the end. Beautiful.” – James Suckling 96 points, “The 2012 Comtes de Champagne is gorgeous. Warm and resonant in the glass, the 2012 Comtes shows all the allure that makes this vintage so appealing. The combination of bright citrus, mineral and floral notes typical of Comtes, enhanced by the soft contours of the vintage, makes for an inviting, open-knit Champagne that is quite showy right out of the gate. Light tropical accents on the finish add an exotic flair. Usually I recommend cellaring just-released Comtes, but that won’t be necessary here.” – Antonio Galloni’s Vinous 95+ points, “The 2012 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne is showing beautifully out of the gates, offering up demonstrative aromas of sweet golden orchard fruit, buttery croissants, peach and hazelnuts. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and enveloping, it’s a rich, textural, vinous Comtes somewhat reminiscent of the brilliant 2002.” – Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate 95 points, “From the very first whiff, this expresses energy, depth and complexity. Aeration reinforces this impression, while also revealing scents of orchard fruit, like apricot, but also exotic fruit, as well as hazelnut and delicate autolytic notes - pastry in particular. On the palate, it is rich and full-bodied, with satisfying sapidity on the long finish. Five to eight years of further cellaring would be ideal, and even more for aficionados of Champagne with marked bottle maturity.” – Decanter Comtes de Champagne, Taittinger’s beloved prestige cuvée, is widely acknowledged as being one of the most elegant and intensely aromatic Champagnes on the planet. The highly respected Champagne expert Richard Juhlin writes of Taittinger: “The real star is the Comtes de Champagne, an exemplary Blanc de Blancs from Cramant, Avize, Oger, Le Mesnil, Chouilly, and old vines in Pierry. The Champagne is the best in its style, with its soft, exotic, and creamy taste.” Made only in exceptional vintages using entirely the first press juice from Grand Cru Chardonnay, it’s then aged for around nine years before being released from the cellar. Despite being quite stressful and complicated in the vineyards, 2012 has been described by respected wine critic Jancis Robinson as “an exceptional vintage in Champagne”. So, Taittinger’s highly anticipated Comtes de Champagne 2012 was always going to be sensational. Golden and glorious, it shimmers with the snaking beads of fine bubbles. Expect dreamy richness, a lining of toastiness, smoke, sorbet-like fruit, poached pear, gingerbread, dramatic tension and seamless finesse. The breath-taking freshness suggests a long future ahead of it for those with the patience to cellar it. And we predict that the next time the critics taste this vintage, those scores will be raised even higher. Taittinger’s vineyards date back to 1734 and were owned by Jacques Fourneaux. The château was bought by Pierre Taittinger in 1932 and the business prides itself on being one of the last remaining independent, family-owned Champagne houses – still run by the name on the label. Their Comtes de Champagne is a wine on an incredible run of form that collectors and connoisseurs should be all over.
£25.33 per 100.00ml
