Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2013 - Grand Crus - Blanc de Blancs

The 2013 Comtes de Champagne captures all the pedigree of this great vintage in its energy, depth and vibrancy. Lemon confit, dried flowers, chamomile, spice and crushed rocks all race across the palate. Passionfruit, ginger, marzipan and mint appear later, filling out the layers beautifully. - Tasted by Antonio Galloni

Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Lees ageing: 9 years
Dosage: 9 g/l

The year 2013 stands out for a winter where temperatures fell below the ten-year average with periods of snow and freezing. Spring persisted with cool temperatures and was marked by heavy rainfall. Flowering began late in in July. An extremely sunny and warm summer helped the vines to offset these earlier delays. Harvest was late with Chardonnay picking beginning on October 1st. Maturity at harvest was very good, the Chardonnays combined notes of white flowers with citrus and hints of tropical fruits from the later September sunshine. They were powerful, structured and well-rounded with excellent length. The Pinots Noir grapes had good complexity with floral aromas of some yellow as well as the typical red fruit characters.

The Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs is made exclusively with Chardonnay from the 5 villages on the Côte des Blancs with «Grands Crus» classification: Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnilsur-Oger and Oger. This unique terroir is a strip of land measuring barely 20 km.

The thousand-year-old chalk is present on the surface, creating a real oasis of water and warmth. White grapes flourish beautifully on this type of soil, from which they draw minerality, strength and aromatic sophistication.

To create the Comtes de Champagne, only the «cuvee» is used, for an absolute guarantee of sophistication. Of the wines that make up its composition, 5% have been aged for 4 months in new oak barrels, one third of which are replaced each year. These enhance the inherent qualities of the final blend of toasted notes. During the 12 years it has spent slowly maturing in cellars, time has worked its magic, meaning this vintage comes to us with an extraordinary energy and ageing potential. All that remains now is for it to write the rest of its story.

Really capturing a moment in time, the freshness of this Comtes de Champagne suggests that it offers all the ageing potential that is to be expected of such a cuvée. The finest example of the Maison Taittinger style, the Comtes de Champagne is rare. It is subject to a great deal of care and attention until it reaches peak condition and the criteria for its creation mean that it cannot be produced on a large scale.