2004 Taittinger Champagne Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut

Community Tasting Note

Lakefarm Likes this wine:

95 Points

Monday, May 11, 2015 - To me this is one of the greatest champagnes. Had along side Krug 2000 and GC and this completely held up, and outshined the GC along with '00 Winston Churchill and '06 Cristal. Toasty, minerally, flinty nose with lots of apple pie and layers of nuts. Just intriguing. The palate is balanced, great length with an, I must say, slightly aggressive mousse. This is a long lived champagne that is also delicious in its youth, what more do you need?

Also forget about DP, Cristal and all the others, this is the champagne you want and at a much better price and QPR. 95-?

Post a Comment /
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Report Issue (4,804 views)

3 comments have been posted

Comment posted by Champagneinhand:

5/11/2015 3:19:00 PM - I would tend to disagree. But I really like aged champagne much more than the younger ones. The 2004 Cristal is something I have had twice and its really good, but like all Cristal needs a lot of cellar time. That said we just had DP from 2004 up against the 1996 and it needs about 10+ years in the cellar and then it should be a winner. Taittinger seems so acidic in its youth, I do like them to get age as well, but they are not a steal, and for what they charge there are a lot better Champagne tete d'cuvee to be had. SWC needs years and years in the cellar. If drinking so young many NV that show very well. Vilmart, VC Gold label vintage, Bollinger, Drappier vintage, so many others its hard to generalize. Taittinger always has structure, but time is also its friend.

There aren't many champagne that I don't like, but the Taitt CdC is very expensive for what you get.
Comment posted by Lakefarm:

5/12/2015 11:48:00 AM - To some degree i agree with you. Yes, the Comtes is somewhat aggressive in terms of acidity, and i probably should have specified that in my TN, but my personal taste leans towards the fresh acidity and wines driven by structure and minerality. Also, where i'm from the Comtes is quite a lot cheaper than both DP, Cristal, Churchill, la Grande Dame, Krugs and many other prestige cuvées, retailing at around 150-175 USD, so in that sense it's a good value as all the others break the 200 USD barrier, some by more than others.

And what i like about the Comtes, regardless of age, is that it intrigues and excites me more than pretty much any other champagne. The only range i can think of is that of Selosse, especially the "entry level" Initial (BdB)
Comment posted by Champagneinhand:

5/13/2015 6:04:00 PM - Well we both agree that there are many different styles to be found in champagne. Tightener is definitely super crisp and structured for sure.