2012 Taittinger "Comtes de Champagne" Brut Blanc de Blancs Champagne

The 2012 vintage of Comtes de Champagne is one of the finest young examples of this iconic bottling I have had the pleasure to taste, though it will be a long distance runner and really is not even close to read to drink at nine years of age. As has been customary for several vintages now, about five percent of the vins clairs were barrel-fermented and aged in cask. The wine was given fully a decade aging sur latte and finished with a dosage of nine grams per liter. The bouquet is deep, pure and nascently complex, wafting from the glass in a mix of pear, apple, brioche, a beautiful base of chalky minerality, almond, honeysuckle, a whisper of buttery oak and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with a brisk girdle of acidity, superb focus and grip, utterly refined mousse and a long, complex and impeccably balanced finish. Tuck this away in the cellar for at least the next six of seven years and allow it to blossom fully!

This entirely grand cru blanc de blancs, from the spectacular 2012 vintage is rich and opulent but maintains its elegant poise. It is sourced from Chouilly, Cramant, Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil, a role call of the very best terroirs of the cote de blancs. The nose is an explosion of dark baked sourdough toast, the mid-palate has a nearly lemon bar lusciousness but still manages to stay light. The long finish has all of the grand cru chalk one could ask for. A magnificent Comtes!