2012 Champagne Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de Blancs, Brut

The 2012 Comtes de Champagne is gorgeous. Warm and resonant in the glass, the 2012 Comtes shows all the allure that makes this vintage so appealing. The combination of bright citrus, mineral and floral notes typical of Comtes, enhanced by the soft contours of the vintage, makes for an inviting, open-knit Champagne that is quite showy right out of the gate. Light tropical accents on the finish add an exotic flair. Usually, I recommend cellaring just-released Comtes, but that won’t be necessary here.

Drink 2022 - 2042

This is a fantastic and refined Blanc de Blancs. So layered and complex, with lemon curd, chalk, hazelnuts, pastries, baked apples and almond croissants. Structured and tightly wound, with almost imperceptible bubbles. There are delicious salty notes at the end. Beautiful. 

Drink or hold

Disgorged 13 December 2021.

Some smokiness on the nose. Lemony, youthful and still quite tight with a detailed undertow – lots going on there! Lacy texture and impressive length. This one will run and run and seems at this stage to have more pronounced acidity than some of its precursors.

Drink 2022 - 2040

The 2012 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne is showing beautifully out of the gates, offering up demonstrative aromas of sweet golden orchard fruit, buttery croissants, peach and hazelnuts. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and enveloping, it's a rich, textural, vinous Comtes somewhat reminiscent of the brilliant 2002. If it gains in tension and cut as the 2002 did and as I suspect the 2012 will) with more time on cork, it will make this initial rating seem conservative.

Drink 2024 - 2055

From the very first whiff, this expresses energy, depth and complexity. Aeration reinforces this impression, while also revealing scents of orchard fruit, like apricot, but also exotic fruit, as well as hazelnut and delicate autolytic notes - pastry in particular. On the palate, it is rich and full-bodied, with satisfying sapidity on the long finish. Five to eight years of further cellaring would be ideal, and even more for aficionados of Champagne with marked bottle maturity.

Drink 2023 - 2040