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Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2002

£220.00

£222.00

Per Bottle
£224.00

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Description & Technical Information

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is a prestige cuvée blanc de blancs made entirely from Chardonnay grapes sourced from the best vines in the prestigious Côte des Blancs region. It is only produced when the harvest is of exceptional quality worthy of a vintage year. Winemaking methods involve strictly using just the first press juice and ageing 5% of the wines for four months in new oak barrels - a third of which are renewed every year - to enhance the intrinsic qualities and complexities of the final blend. Presented in 18th century antique style bottles, this hand-crafted champagne is aged eighteen metres underground in the UNESCO status Saint-Nicaise cellars in Reims for a minimum of eight years before being released.

Weather: The 2002 vintage shaped up magnificently over the spring, with no significant frost and near-perfect flowering. Then followed a summer marked by long, sunny periods interspersed with regular cloudy and rainy spells. The vines were in good health and the dehydration of the grape berries helped them reach new heights of ripeness. Generally considered one of the best harvests in the last twenty years.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand Cru | Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger
Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Ageing: 8-10 years on the lees
Disgorged: March 2012
Dosage: 9 g/l
Drink: Now to 2025

Tasting Note: Pale golden-yellow colour with a fresh nose opening on grilled, toasty notes. The palate is expressive and powerful, dominated by citrus fruit, with more delicate hints of grapefruit and sweet liquorice notes. This is the most arresting Comtes since 1996: a very drinkable champagne but also one that will enjoy a long future.

Champagne Taittinger Overview

Expert Reviews

18/20

Jancis Robinson MW

“Disgorged March 2012. RS 9 g/l. From Taittinger's UK agent, Hatch Mansfield.
Tasted blind. Very pale greenish straw. Very, very fine bead. Dense and tight with layers. Comtes or Salon? Very tightly laced with a tiny little bead. Very fine. Comtes?”

18.5/20

Jancis Robinson MW

“100% Chardonnay. Disgorged March 2012. RS 9 g/l.
Tasted blind. Very well mannered. Not at all showy, but all seems to be in the right proportion. Racy and energetic. Really very much in the spirit of 2002. Lots there but such pace! Marked acidity but great fruit too. Long. Youthful.”

18.5/20

Jancis Robinson MW

“Pale greenish straw. Quite a different colour from the vintage 2002 – paler. Lacy reductive nose. Distinctly smoky. Very readable and perfect, fine Chardonnay – richer and more powerful than the 2004.
Drink 2018-2030”

95/100

Michael Edwards

“Youthful vigour and purity of green fruits, hazlenuts and a touch of fennel. Great subtlety. Magnum
”

96 → 98/100

Essi Avellan MW

“Bright lemon colour. Restrained yet intense nose still holding back. Beautiful underlying depth and gorgeous toasty layers. A warmer feel than in the 2004. Sweet, bright fruitiness with light spiciness, cinnamon. Superb toasty note. Plenty of character, delivering on every front. Superbly elegant. Regrettably a small-sized vintage for Comtes.”

95/100

Richard Juhlin

“Though very dumb when tasted soon after disgorgement, just three months later you could already taste the grandeur and concentration. There were just 35,000 bottles made in this vintage, 100,000 fewer than normal, so there will be fighting over these dense, lime-scented beauties when the wine finally awakens.”

18.5

Jancis Robinson MW

“Tasted blind. Disgorged June 2012.
Richer, more evolved nose than the sample tasted alongside. Much broader and creamier. I thought it therefore had to be from a bottle but in fact it was a magnum.”

98/100

Antonio Galloni

“Taittinger’s 2002 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne is off the charts. I have tasted the 2002 now many times, and it has never been less than thrilling. A vivid kaleidoscope of pure Chardonnay aromas and flavors opens up in the glass. The 2002 is at once incredibly rich yet also totally weightless and impeccable in its balance. All the classic Comtes notes are there, but with a level of detail and nuance I don’t think I have ever seen before. The 2002 is breathtakingly beautiful today, but also appears to have the stuffing to age for decades. Personally, I would be looking to buy the 2002 in magnums if at all possible. Sadly, there is little wine to go around as 2002 was a very short crop. Readers who can track down the 2002 are in store for something truly great. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2042”

94/100

Wine Spectator

“A rich base of toasted brioche and briny mineral supports flavors of poached quince, white peach puree, fleur de sel, pastry and smoked almond. There's a quiet verve to this wine, with a fine, silky texture throughout. Drink now through 2025.”

95/100

Stephen Tanzer

“Light, bright gold. A heady, intensely perfumed bouquet evokes lemon curd, pear skin, iodine, honeysuckle and toasty lees, with notes of ginger and honey emerging with air. Strikes an impressive balance of power and restraint, opening slowly to offer vibrant citrus and orchard fruit flavors, along with intense floral and spice nuances. Clings with superb tenacity on the gently smoky finish, which features zesty orange pith and mineral qualities. By the way, the 2004 Comtes de Champagne Rose has become even more intense over the last 12 months, gaining in both mineral and floral intensity. I know the old saw about aging rose Champagne but this is a wine that is built for the long haul.”

18/20

Jancis Robinson MW

“100% Chardonnay. Greenish straw. Nicely balanced and relatively open. Quite a high dosage but very easy to like. Fine and as though there’s a drawstring on the finish. All very neat on the end after quite an effusive beginning. Mid weight to light.”

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News Articles

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Vertical Tasting

April 29, 2016
Read the article and view photos from our Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Vertical Tasting with Philip Tuck MW at Fredericks
2018 Vins Clairs: A Vintage Summary

June 14, 2019
Earlier this year, we tasted a range of 2018 vins clairs with winemakers at fifteen different houses in Champagne. Thanks to exceptional weather throughout the year, some have been calling it 'the vintage of the century' and expectations are already sky-high. But just how much potential does 2018 have?
Taittinger: 2018 Vins Clairs Tasting

April 7, 2019
The unusual weather patterns in 2018 produced the "perfect conditions for the vineyard", according to new Taittinger Chef de Cave Alexandre Ponnavoy. We met last month to taste the vins clairs, which displayed incredible specificity: each wine showcasing the distinctive characteristics of its individual origins.
The Future According to Taittinger

October 20, 2017
Our trip to Reims in August included a smorgasbord of Taittinger: over twenty champagne tasted with head winemaker Loïc Dupont, including an interesting look into the future with Comtes de Champagne 2008 and 2012.
Taittinger: One Big Champagne Family

March 30, 2017
We tasted the 2016 base wines with Vitalie Taittinger, Loïc Dupont & Damien Le Sueur. Discussing the influence of oak barrels, the new 'image of Taittinger Rosé', the potential for Comtes 2016 and Taittinger's new winery; this was a truly eye-opening visit.
Vintage Overviews
Grand & Premier Crus Explained