Champagne Taittinger Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne Brut Grand Cru 2012
99 pt. Taittinger Comtes de Champagne! An iconic top-flight bottling that leads the field for the best 2012 in the region!
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Why We Love It...
Taittinger’s signature style of opulent richness, mineral depth, and taut precision is fully evident here… this is simply unreal. Beginnings of tart Granny Smith apples, then rising bread dough, and freshly shorn sweet grass – the aromas and perfume here is so pure and pristine, like an alpine stream. Things get truly expansive in the mouth, with fresh lemon zest, navel oranges, tangerines, spice poached pears, with accents of nutmeg, croissants straight from the ovens, all culminating in a finish that reveals elements of smoked hay, crumbled chalk, struck flint, fragrant green peppercorns. The wine stays on the tongue for minutes after each sip, and lingers in the brain for far, far longer. A triumph, without question, and worthy of the lofty Comtes’ reputation.
"I'll take Taittinger blanc de blancs….. It is not well known, but it is the best champagne in the world" – James Bond, Casino Royale 1957
Sure, Bond is best known in the movies for his martinis, but in the books, his tastes are far more varied, and his fondness for Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is legendary. This 100% chardonnay is crafted exclusively from the 5 Grand Crus of the Cote de Blancs – Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Oger, and Mesnil-sur-Oger. A sparse 5% is fermented in new oak, giving the hint of toastiness that is always present, yet never dominates the final product. Aged in the family’s chalk quarries of Saint-Nicaise, where the only sound is the muffled steps of the riddlers carrying about their turning, this remarkable 2012 spent a whopping 10 years aging on the lees, and finished with a Brut dosage of 9 g/liter.
This 2012 is a brand new release, and one that hasn’t even made it yet to the house’s own website! We scoured all of our best Champagne sources to get access to this, and hey, you only turn 1 just the once, so we opted to blow it all out in style today! It’s a special occasion wine, to be certain, but ready to drink now (or cellar for another decade plus, your call)! Thanks for being a part of our celebration – what with Fizz Fest yesterday, and now Comtes today… we just don’t want to ever stop! Champagne gods willing, we won’t, so here’s to another great year of all things bubbles under the sun and stars!
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