The overriding distinction in the 2008 Comtes is its balance. The wine is effortless to taste, with a noticeable creamy, textural finesse. It is both rich in fruit and at the same time ethereally light, with the integrated backbone of acidity lifting and framing the wine, a counterpoint to the rich, honeyed citrus and lightly baked pastry notes. Scented, honeyed grapefruit and jasmine notes add delicate aromatic lift. Despite its obvious youth, it is already wonderfully settled and not at all skinny – with the acidity never overreaching or aggressive. With such perceptible balance, this will no doubt age beautifully, slowly taking on more weight.

FINE+RARE

”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.”

98 POINTS – ANTONIO GALLONI, VINOUS

“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 2021-2048.”

98 POINTS – WILLIAM KELLEY, WINE ADVOCATE

A slightly more luxurious nature to the 2008 than the great 2007. Full-bodied with a lovely framework of acidity and dry fruit, such as apples, pears and peaches. Opulent. Dense and muscular. Yet, it’s balanced and harmonious. Line of acidity at the end. One for the cellar. Release in 2020. Drink or hold.”

99 POINTS – JAMES SUCKLING

The overriding distinction in the 2008 Comtes is its balance. The wine is effortless to taste, with a noticeable creamy, textural finesse. It is both rich in fruit and at the same time ethereally light, with the integrated backbone of acidity lifting and framing the wine, a counterpoint to the rich, honeyed citrus and lightly baked pastry notes. Scented, honeyed grapefruit and jasmine notes add delicate aromatic lift. Despite its obvious youth, it is already wonderfully settled and not at all skinny – with the acidity never overreaching or aggressive. With such perceptible balance, this will no doubt age beautifully, slowly taking on more weight.

FINE+RARE