Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2004 750mL

Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2004 is Taittinger's prestige cuvée from a year of big crops and good quality. It is all grand cru Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs, with a fresh, citrus-led style that has aged slowly.

About This Champagne

The grapes come from the five grand cru villages of the Côte des Blancs: Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger. Only first-pressing juice is used, and 5% of the wines spend four months in new oak barrels, a third of which are renewed each year. The wine then rests for years in the chalk cellars of Saint-Nicaise before release, with a dosage of 9 g/L. 2004 had a cold winter without long freezes, a pleasant, dry spring and flowering from mid-June in cool weather. Summer was mild and dry until rain arrived in mid-August, then a warm, sunny September lifted sugar levels. The result was a very large harvest, and of good quality. Antonio Galloni gave it 97 points, describing a tightly wound wine for the cellar.

Tasting Profile

• Nose: Grilled, toasty notes first, then candied citrus peel, lemon and vanilla tart, roasted almonds and a floral touch of dried flowers and lime blossom.
• Palate: Expressive and powerful on entry, led by ripe lemon, then more delicate mid-palate with caramelised grapefruit.
• Finish: Long and rich, with sweet liquorice at the close.

Serving & Food

Pour at 10 to 11°C into a tulip glass; an hour in the fridge after cellar temperature is about right. It loves shellfish: try scallop carpaccio, lobster with beurre blanc, or oysters. It is drinking now and has years in hand.

How to Enjoy

Blanc de Blancs lovers who want to taste a well-aged grand cru Chardonnay Champagne, or a 20th anniversary gift for a 2004 wedding.

Product Details

About the Maison

The cuvée's name honours Thibaut IV, Count of Champagne and King of Navarre, who, the house says, brought the ancestor of Chardonnay back to Champagne some eight centuries ago. Comtes de Champagne is made only in exceptional years, with 42 vintages declared since the first in 1952.