Intellectual Hedonism in 1.5L
1999 Taittinger Comtes MAGNUMS
The Greatest Champagne Deal of the Year?
Name the absolute best Blanc de Blancs. It's a short list: Krug's Clos du Mesnil, Salon, Selosse's vintage offering and... Taittinger's Comtes.
Two factors, however, distinguish the Taittinger from the others.
First, it is one of the few Champagnes that's lovely in youth (ripe, rich, indulgent) as well as mind-twisting 20, 30 or even 40 years down the line. (A bottle of 1976 Comtes remains one of the formative bottles we've had in the last few years.)
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Please keep in mind we have only one small parcel of these magnums at this price. Give us your maximum order and we'll allocate accordingly.
The 1999 Comtes, now just entering that 10-year-old sweet spot, has been one of our favorite 1999ers, and for some time. We emailed about the wine last year (an offer which, by the way, sold out quickly). Still, what we wrote last year is just as true today, though in magnum expect everything to be more intense, more defined, more finessed.
There is so little of this wine available and the deal is so severe, we'll just quote our email from last year and leave it at that. This will sell out quickly.
To order, please email us at offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.
Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare
Crush Wine & Spirits
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From our initial offering of 1999 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne
Over the last few years, Bobby and I have enjoyed numerous phenomenal bottles of Comtes: the 1995, 1990, 1989, 1982, and a truly formative bottle of the 1976. While each vintage had different hallmarks, the common thread was unmistakable: Upon opening, the wines are lush and intense, but with air, a vibrant back-end structure and acidity rounds into form, which is what really keeps you coming back for more.
1999 was a solid vintage for Champagne, highlighted by the quality of the Pinot Noir grapes. Going against the trend of the season (along with Anselme Selosse), Taittinger's Chardonnay nailed it with one of the best bottles of the year, a wine that gushes with all the "unadulterated hedonism" you can take, blossoming in the glass with sheathes of flint, candied citrus peel, caramel and exotic fruits.
At just over ten years old, the 99 Comtes is still fresh and quite flirtatious, but she's beginning to seriously round the bend into her luscious, hogging-the-spotlight phase. Expect the fireworks to only get better over the next few decades.