2012 Champagne Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé
Buying options
Tasting Notes
The latest release of Taittinger’s prestige rosé Champagne, Comtes de Champagne, comes from the lauded 2012 vintage – and it more than lives up to the year’s very high reputation. This is a powerful, vinous Champagne – with the circa 15% still red wine shining through. The nose combines floral lift with savoury tones and sweet cherry fruit, orange peel, sweet spice and oystershell, leading onto a palate that is broad and textured. The mousse is gloriously fine and effortless, while there’s a fine tannic framework, a rush of red fruit on the mid-palate, before the whole thing tightens up on the long, mineral, saline finish, mouth-watering and irresistible. A superb wine that is drinking beautifully now but will only offer more over the next decade and beyond. A blend of 60% Pinot Noir and 40% Chardonnay, the dosage is 9g/l.
Critic Scores
Average Score
Yohan Castaing, Wine Advocate
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2012 Comtes de Champagne Rosé is magnificent. Rich and explosive in the glass, the 2012 Comtes Rosé dazzles from start to finish. I like it even more today than I liked it last year! A rush of red cherry fruit, kirsch, blood orange, cinnamon and rose petal soars out of the glass. Vertical structure and tons of energy are the signatures. I would be thrilled to own this.
Evoking a superb bouquet, the remarkable 2012 Brut Comtes de Champagne Rosé reveals aromas of mint, strawberries, ripe red berries, tangerine, plums, orange rind and blood orange. Full-bodied, vinous and concentrated, it has a delicately, perfectly balanced phenolic mid-palate framed by a pinpoint mousse of striking finesse and delicacy, concluding with a vibrant, vertical finish enhanced by gastronomic bitterness. A blend of 70% Pinot Noir, including 14% as red wine, and 30% Chardonnay, disgorged with a dosage of nine grams per liter, this is one of the most elegant and refined Comtes de Champagne Rosé releases from Taittinger.
This is a structured, focused yet delicate rosé Comtes. Almost rust-colored, with tons of grapefruit, crushed stones, blackcurrants and wild raspberries, alongside oyster shells and chalk. Very precise and fine, with seamless bubbles and a fresh, very long finish. 60% pinot noir (from Mailly, Verzenay and Ambonnay) and 40% chardonnay (Avize, Le Mesnilsur- Oger and Oger), of which 16% red wine from Bouzy, all grand cru. Drink or hold.
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.