October 27, 2023 - From magnum. Excellent colour and good amount of bubbles for a wine of this age. Very mushroomy on the nose with hints of honey and brioche. There was also a lifted note (that I didn’t like) but it eventually blew off. The palate was amazingly fresh and lively but the flavour profile showed this wine’s 47 years with lots of secondary notes, earthy, more mushrooms, lemons and quite a long finish. A good bit of richness here and complexity. Not as good as a previous magnum (from the same source), but still very enjoyable.
March 5, 2022 - a little dusty at first, with vanilla, Chinese licorice, honey, and marmalade in the nose. Really lovely about 50 minutes after opening, and much more open a little more than an hour after opening. Also got richer on palate. Very, very nice.
December 18, 2021 - Broad and rich style, fairly clean.
June 9, 2021 - Acker's Post-COVID BYO, Dinner and Auction Simulcast (Craft - New York NY): Small glass, brief note. Wow, what a treat in this vertical. Powerful and amazingly fresh for its age. Excellent depth and length with complex array of apple character. Ebru preferred the 1969, but I am with this 1976.
September 2, 2020 - Houston, we have pschitt!!! Always a promising sign when opening aged Champagne. This BdB poured a beautiful golden cider color and still had a stream of tiny bubbles.
The 76 Comtes is fully resolved with a creamy texture and citrus freshness. It’s sweet scent of fruit cake, toffee, fire roasted almonds and toasted brioche is intoxicating. Mature and appropriate slight oxidative flavors of caramel, citrus creme brûlée, honeyed dried apricot and yellow apple are deeply layered and complex. The high acidity really made this an incredible food Champagne which we enjoyed with Caviar.
Devastatingly gorgeous...I completely adore the complexity of these mature, vinous CdCs!
May 10, 2019 - Greg. I get it. Slightly rose colored, but remains incredibly elegant and balanced. Very sweet palate, round and fully resolved. Even touch of nail polish to finish. Superb.
March 3, 2019 - Richard Juhlin Top 100 Day 1 @ Gustav Zürich (Restaurant Gustav Zürich): not blind
5th time I had this bottle. the first one was the most expressive (99p). Compared to the 76 de Venoge less oxidative. Candied and dried fruits. Toffee, milk chocolate, some citrus, missing a bit the concentration and the late finish is too "sweet". 93-94
December 31, 2018 - Very deep and complex. Caramel on the nose. Lime on the palate. Wonderful to share w grandparents who had squirreled this away in their cellar for 40+ years to be enjoyed together much later. First time enjoying vintage champagne, wonderful.
December 25, 2018 - Found by my girlfriend at an indoor flea market so who knows how the bottle has been stored. Very little fizz but lots of fruit and remarkable complexity. A very interesting glass and it must have been one heck of a champagne at it's peak.
January 1, 2018 - New Year's Day, 2018 - Pokai Parera (Ekatahuna, New Zealand): A privilege to drink, this 42 year old bottle is still alive and is showing considerable complexity. Still moderately effervescent. There wine is displaying a structure that hints at the heights this wine must have attained at its peak. The nose is showing hints of decay and vegetal notes, but is also very layered and complex. The palate is more appealing - vibrant acids cut through the advanced maturity, while the fruit of the wine is in no way drying out. Tasted after the Heidsieck, this came across as the more complicated (and in some ways, interesting) wine. The fact that this wine has clearly peaked brings the score down for me. This wine would have been extraordinary back in the day. Still, a very good wine with masses of interest.