2008 Champagne Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de Blancs, Brut

Constructed from a tapestry of vineyards from the Cote des Blancs, 5% is vinified in new oak. Tasted several times since 2013, due for release sometime this year (2020). It has been interesting to follow this wine as it has developed on its lees, the earliest iteration was buried under a mountain of fruit esters and acidity, while slowly revealing itself over the years with successive trial disgorgements. When last tasted in 2017, a nervy, unyielding wine, that tingles with energy and potential, possibly one of the wines of the vintage. Precise, citrus fresh, with complexity and impossible length. Chablis-like minerality with a weightless, juicy density, certainly a wine to lose in your cellar for a couple of decades. Superb!
Jasper Morris MW, insideburgundy.com (November 2017) Read more

Taittinger’s 2008 Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne is simply breathtaking. I have tasted it many times over the years in various trial disgorgements and it has never been anything less than compelling. The final, finished wine captures all of that potential. Bright, focused and wonderfully deep, Comtes is a fabulous example of a vintage that expresses so much energy but with real fruit intensity, the signatures that distinguish it from other vintages (1996 comes to mind) that were similarly taut, but more austere in the early going. Although the 2008 impresses right out of the gate, it only really starts to open up with several hours of air. The 2008 Comtes represents the purest essence of the Côtes des Blancs in a great, historic vintage. Readers who can find the 2008 should not hesitate, as it is a truly brilliant epic Champagne that no one who loves the very best in Champagne will want to be without. Drinking Window 2023 – 2048.
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (August 2020) Read more

Taittinger's 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne is being released this year, and it will be worth a special effort to track down. I wrote in August 2019 that this is the finest Comtes de Champagne since the brilliant 2002, and this tasting confirmed that. Offering up a deep and complex bouquet of citrus oil, crisp orchard fruit, warm brioche, crushed chalk, blanched almonds and smoke, it's full-bodied and incisive, with excellent concentration, racy acids and a long, searingly chalky finish. While this is already immensely impressive out of the gates, this 2008 is clearly built for the long haul, and three decades' longevity won't be a challenge. Drink Date 2021 – 2048
William Kelley, The Wine Advocate (September 2020) Read more

Firm and lively. Arguably more Comtes than 2008 although it’s wonderfully long. Throbs. Still quite tight and tensile.
Jancis Robinson MW, jancisrobinson.com (June 2019) Read more

Wonderful, intriguing nose with ripe orchard fruits of conference pear and pink lady apples, seasoned with brioche and roasted cashew nuts. It’s rich on the palate with lovely layers of citrussy, silky tones and a touch of honey.

Drink 2022 - 2045

Matt Walls, Decanter.com (Oct 2021) Read more