"Simply breathtaking"
2008 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne

Posted by Ian McFadden

"It is a truly brilliant epic Champagne that no one who loves the very best in Champagne will want to be without." - Antonio Galloni

When Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is on, it can reach heights that only a select few Champagnes can achieve.

As the Galloni quotes above make clear, the 2008 is a dynamic bottle. We drank another bottle last week and there's little doubt that the wine will go down as a legend.

In 2008, Comtes de Champagne has an explosive minerality, incredible detail, and a nearly unrelenting length. There's class and precision. Antonio Galloni captures the wine well when he writes: "The 2008 Comtes represents the purest essence of the CĂ´tes des Blancs in a great, historic vintage."

Along with Krug's Clos de Mesnil, Dom Ruinart, Salon, and Selosse, Comtes de Champagne is a quintessential Blanc de Blancs. Comtes de Champagne is Taittinger's prestige cuvée, first released in 1952 and sourced from some of the Côte des Blancs' top Grand Crus (Avize, Le Mesnil and Oger along with a little Chouilly and Cramant).

I've had extraordinary experiences with old Comtes de Champagne. When an aged bottle shines, it really, really shines. Comtes de Champagne can show its share of richness, but its hallmark is one of elegance and impeccable class.

The 2008 is the epitome of the breeding that this wine offers. This is a Champagne that you'll want to watch evolve for decades. I'm very happy to have another opportunity to offer this epic wine.

To order, email offers@crushwineco.com or call the store at (212) 980-9463.

Ian McFadden
Director, Fine & Rare
Crush Wine & Spirits

Pre-arrival

2008 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne

750 ml

$269.95
Title

Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media: "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."