Description
Originally known as Forest-Fourneaux with history dating back to 1734 and in 1932 Pierre Taittinger bought the House and the Taittinger label was born. A century of incredible growth saw Taittinger become one of the biggest producers and today is one of the last big independent, family-owned Houses. Pierre-Emmanuel retired in 2019 and was succeeded as President by his daughter Vitalie. They own 288-hectares of vineyards and the Taittinger style is the high percentage of Chardonnay. In 2017 Taittinger received two environmental accreditations: the ‘Viticulture Durable en Champagne’ (Sustainable vine-growing in Champagne) and the Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE – High environmental sustainability.)
Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is a prestige cuvée blanc de blancs made entirely from Chardonnay grapes sourced from the best vines in the prestigious Côte des Blancs region. It is only produced when the harvest is of exceptional quality worthy of a vintage year. Winemaking methods involve strictly using just the first press juice and ageing 5% of the wines for four months in new oak barrels – a third of which are renewed every year – to enhance the intrinsic qualities and complexities of the final blend. Presented in 18th century antique style bottles, this hand-crafted champagne is aged eighteen metres underground in the UNESCO status Saint-Nicaise cellars in Reims for a minimum of eight years before being released.
Weather: After a rainy but mild winter without any prolonged cold spells, spring arrived with some very localised frosts. Cool weather returned in June and the infrequent sunshine prolonged the feeling of freshness. The spring to autumn weather was bright with sunny spells and the long, hot days and cool nights during September gave the grapes excellent acidity during the harvest period. The 2008 vintage is fast emerging as one of the best since the renowned and now-legendary 2002. Harvesting took place in the sunshine, though relatively cool temperatures, from 15 September to 10 October, which meant the grapes were ripe and very healthy.
Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand Cru | Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger
Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Lees Ageing: 10 years
Disgorged: December 2019
Dosage: 9 g/l
Drink: Now to 2030+
Tasting Note: Antonio Galloni MW, Vinous Media, August 2019 – 98+/100
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 Côte 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.
