Taittinger, Blanc de Blancs, Comtes de Champagne, 2013

Name: Taittinger, Blanc de Blancs, Comtes de Champagne
Brand: Taittinger
Price: 691.93 GBP

Available Vintages

all 1998 2011 2012 2013 2014

justerini & brooks tasting note

A triumphant rendition of this iconic Taittenger Blanc de Blancs. Brimming with all the energy and tension you’d want to see in a long-lived Comtes release. It’s a wine built up out of fine layers of flavour, a concentrated composite that floods the palate in multiple dimensions. It is full of rich ripe fruit yet feels driven and controlled by a salty, acid driven energy; a combination that leaves your palate both seduced and uplifted. The composition for the blend features Chardonnays from the heart of the Cotes de Blancs – the five Grand Cru Villages of Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger, a narrow strip of terroir whose soils provide minerality, strength and aromatic delicacy. Vinification is primarily done in stainless steel tanks to retain freshness and purity. However, 5% of the wine is aged for four months in new and second fill oak barrels, to increase depth and complexity. The key factor in the poise and finesse of Comtes though, is the nigh on 10 years it spends ageing sur lie in the bottle. This contributes abundant autolytic character; brioche, vanilla cream and toast accents, that make this wine so alluring. We’re big fans of the best of the 2013s, an extremely late vintage by today’s standards and one of the few to see harvest arrive in October. Taittenger Comtes 2013 is a captivating rendition of the year, a wine of precision and focus, more intense than concentrated, open and full of energy. Ripe citrus fruit, lemon cream and peach stone juxtapose the enticing vanilla infused pastry notes that envelop the palate. It tightens up on the finish to leave a persistent taste imbued with ginger, liquorice and lemon sherbet with a saline, mineral lift that lingers beautifully. Drink it now or cellar it for a decade or more.

critic reviews

98/100Antonio Galloni,Vinous

The 2013 Comtes de Champagne is a towering Champagne, as it was last year. Rich, sumptuous and explosive, the 2013 soars out of the glass with a captivating mix of tropical fruit, apricot, passion fruit, baked apple tart, mint and yellow flowers. It is one of the most explosive, extroverted Comtes I have ever tasted. Impressive.

DRINKING WINDOW 2025 - 2053

date of review 03/2024

96/100Yohan Castaing,Robert Parker Wine Advocate

The 2013 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne's bouquet is compellingly fresh and minty, revealing aromas of white fruitnotably pear and applemarzipan and sweet spices, as well as a light touch of citrus mingled with classy autolytic notes. On the palate, this is a structured, tensile and ethereal Champagne with high aciditya sign of a classic vintageanimated by a mousse of striking finesse and delicacy. Although already enjoyable, it should develop well for several decades.

DRINKING WINDOW 2023 - 2045

date of review 09/2023

95/100Sarah Mayo,The Wine Independent

Taittinger’s 2013 Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs captures an abundance of finesse from Champagne’s cooler 2013 vintage. Mineral-rich and taut, it opens with honeyed notes of ripe citrus, poached nashi pear, butter wafers, and crème fraiche that gradually gain aromatic intensity as it unfurls. Light to medium-bodied, it has well-heeled, vibrant acidity that lends an energetic tension and freshness to the long, toasty finish. This subtly assertive and refined Comtes de Champagne should evolve beautifully with bottle age for 15+ years. Drink 2023-2040.

DRINKING WINDOW 2023 - 2040

date of review 09/2023