2012 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne
Buying options
Tasting Notes
Comtes de Champagne is Taittinger’s prestige cuvée. Pure Chardonnay sourced from the Grand Cru villages of Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger on the Côte des Blancs, it’s one of the world’s great Champagnes – and the 2012 is another stunning release. The vintage was superb for Chardonnay, although frost and hailstorms mean the crop was particularly small. The resulting wine is a Champagne of outstanding purity and finesse. It has a classic nose of buttered pastry, chalky mineral tones and riper Mirabelle plum fruit. The palate is very elegant with a creamy, silken texture and delicate, yellow-apple fruit. There is lovely balance and deceptive depth to this finely etched Champagne. It’s long with a pithy, mineral salinity and finishes with mouth-watering freshness.
Critic Scores
Average Score
James Suckling
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
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. If it gains in tension and cut (as the 2002 did and as I suspect the 2012 will) with more time on cork, it will make this initial rating seem conservative.
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. Drink or hold.
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.
About the producer
Champagne Taittinger is one of the region’s leading Grande Marque Champagne houses and also one of the largest, when it comes to vineyard ownership. It is also the producer behind one of the region’s best loved vintage Blanc de Blancs: Comtes de Champagne.