Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 1998
Price:$219.99 SKU70397 | Add to Cart |
Taittinger
Color: The color is pale yellow with silvery glints. The bubbles are exceptionally fine and abundant and form a lively and lasting elegant necklace of mousse.
Nose: The nose is intensely fine and ethereal, reminiscent of mineral aromas and the delicate fragrance of white blossom, with overtones of fresh almonds, vanilla and a subtle hint of pine forests.
Palate: The first impression on the palate is of extreme freshness, with dominant flavors of citrus fruits, lemon zest and grapefruit and a lightly acidulous, beautifully balanced finish. In all, Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 1998 is an exceptional wine boasting remarkable finesse; its aromatic qualities and intense flavors make it a superior quality champagne.
Wine Enthusiast
Possibly the most famous Blanc de Blancs, this continues to be a yardstick. The style almost floats, a layer of bubbles that rests gently in the mouth, releasing great flavors of very crisp fruits and a texture that hovers between green apples and minerality. This is a classic.
Score: 95.
—Roger Voss,
November
30,
2008.
Wine Spectator
Plenty of graphite and citrus on the nose, followed by butter, coffee and toast flavors. Racy, with a refined texture and excellent vigor. Beautifully put together, this seems youthful, with great potential. Drink now through 2024.
Score: 94.
—Bruce Sanderson,
November
15,
2009.
Wine Advocate
The 1998 Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne is simply beautiful. Sweet notes of honey are intermingled with candied citrus peel, flowers, smoke and minerals as this gorgeous wine opens up in the glass. Comtes de Champagne is always an understated, elegant wine, but its pedigree is impossible to miss. Readers seeking instant gratification will find much to admire even today, but this is clearly a wine that has the potential to develop positively in bottle. If past vintages are an accurate indication, the wine should acquire the liqueur-like sweetness in bottle that is its hallmark over time. Old vintages of Comtes de Champagne are unlike any other wine. The Comtes de Champagne is 100% Chardonnay from the grand cru villages Avize, Cramant, Chouilly, Beergers-les-Vertus, Vertus and Mesnil-sur-Oger. A small amount of the wine is aged in new French oak barrels. Anticipated maturity: 2008-2028.
Score: 94.
—Antonio Galloni,
December
2008.
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