Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2008

The perfect blanc de blancs. Full-bodied with a lovely framework of acidity and dry fruit, such as apples, pears and peaches. Opulent. Dense and muscular. Yet, it’s balanced and harmonious. Line of acidity at the end. Totally in tune. Superb. Deep and complete. Has everything. One for the cellar. It is the greatest Comte ever. It has everything. A perfect upgrade from two years ago. Drink or hold.Rated James Suckling's No.1 Wine of France in 2021

Taittinger's 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne is being released this year, and it will be worth a special effort to track down. I wrote in August 2019 that this is the finest Comtes de Champagne since the brilliant 2002, and this tasting confirmed that. Offering up a deep and complex bouquet of citrus oil, crisp orchard fruit, warm brioche, crushed chalk, blanched almonds and smoke, it's full-bodied and incisive, with excellent concentration, racy acids and a long, searingly chalky finish. While this is already immensely impressive out of the gates, this 2008 is clearly built for the long haul, and three decades' longevity won't be a challenge.

It is a champagne that I have tasted several times since 2013, before being officially released early in 2021. It has been interesting to follow as it has developed on its lees; the earliest iteration was buried under a mountain of fruit esters and acidity while slowly revealing itself over the years with successive trial disgorgements. An utterly thrilling Champagne. Full of taut energy that delivers immediacy and potential at the same time. The autolytic fatness is slowly receding, revealing a wine precision and depth—aromas of pear and preserved lemons dominate the bouquet, although a delicate toastiness is building. Impeccably balanced, the complexity is endless; each successive sniff of the glass reveals yet another dimension of this incredible Champagne. Did I mention the extraordinary length? It is a legend and the best Comtes de Champagne I have ever tasted (going back to the early 1960's). Drink from 2023-2050. Tasted: 25-Dec-22.

This bottle of Taittinger's eagerly anticipated 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne had been disgorged in July 2018, and the wine is showing brilliantly, unfurling in the glass with a vivid bouquet of citrus oil, green apple, warm brioche, crushed chalk and blanched almonds. On the palate, it's full-bodied and searingly intense, with striking concentration and incisive but perfectly integrated acids, displaying a fine mousse, and remaining quintessentially elegant despite its undeniable power and persistence. The finest Comtes de Champagne since the brilliant 2002, this is a terrific vintage for this dependably age-worthy cuvée, and though it's already impressive, the wine is built for the long haul: conserved in a cold cellar, the 2008 will still be in fine form three decades from now. 2020-2055