6 champagnes incl. 2006 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne

A local tasting group recently held an event featuring champagne and the special inclusion of significant others.

One of the members hosted it and for this occasion, reserved an ideal picnic area in a local park. He set it up perfectly for all of our needs as well as providing quality appetizers that were embellished by some of the others attending.

We had a bluebird day for the 13 of us while enjoying the fellowship and some fine bubbly:

2000 DELAMOTTE BLANC de BLANC BRUT- following its yellow gold color came mature notes of mineral, ginger and hazelnut infused citrus and stone fruit that translated into lemon, orange zest, lime, peach and nectarine once tasted; it was medium to full bodied and had a nice frothy mousse; after an hour, it opened up even more and showcased very nice balance.

2004 GASTON CHIQUET BLANC de BLANC BRUT in magnum- 45% Pinot Meunier, 35% Chardonnay and 20% Pinot Noir; nice stone fruit and citrus fruit dominated this lovely, rich Grand Cru sourced bubbly; it was such an easy quaffer made possible by its creamy texture, bright acidity and long, tantalizing finish.

2008 LAURENT-PERRIER BRUT in magnum- I’ve loved this since its was first released and it has held its own with many of the stupendous 2008s that are across the board magnificent; this bottle was my first from magnum and it seemed to express all of its goodies even more-so, especially its richness and creaminess; additionally, it was full bodied and as was the case for previous samplings, had lots finesse and loads of sophistication; following its medium yellow color came aromas of honeyed lemon zest which continued on to be joined by ginger and spice laden citrus, apple and pear; a huge hit of spice finished it off nicely; of all of the attributes this had, it was its unexpected power, mouthfeel and balance that stood out once again.

NV RUINART BRUT ROSE- recent past notes are applicable here; this bottle was superlative; the nose had nice floral notes especially that of rose petals; the taste profile included ripe strawberry, red raspberry and red cherry notes while being delivered in a creamy mousse; it checks all of the boxes on the pleasure meter.

2014 LOUIS ROEDERER BRUT ROSE- this was my first exposure to this vintage and like other recent vintages, it’s showing beautifully out of the gate; fresh floral and strawberry notes waft out of the glass to indicate what is to follow and its light red fruit profile is delivered elegantly; it’s a refreshing rose that’s easy on the palate and yet packs enough stuff to allow for one to explore and appreciate its depth and complexity.

2006 TAITTINGER COMTES de CHAMPAGNE BLANC de BLANC- when I went to pull a bottle for this event, my worn out path to the Taittinger stash led me to the easy decision; I’ve had a ton of this release and it seems to be just getting better when it was thought that it can’t get any better than stellar; it showcased its significant bright acidity, lovely aromas of toasty brioche and spicy citrus fruit followed by a preponderance of fresh lemon zest and orchard fruit on the palate plus a creamy, feel good mousse and ideal balance; another bottle of this stupendous wine.

This was a fun event and the quality and relatively small size of the gathering made for a wonderful shared occasion with good people, tasty food and fine champagne.

Cheers,
Blake

Need to try that Comtes…thanx for the lovely notes

Yes, that should be at the top of the bucket list. Enjoy.

I’ve been letting my bottles of 06 Comtes sit-looks like a good plan. Nice tasting!

My plan: It has been drinking so beautifully since its early on release and is getting better by the year, but the increments are small as it goes from being stellar to extra stellar. My strategy was to get enough to store some and follow its climb and evolvution. I kind of over did it and I treasure every bottle I’ve had while doing so and looks forward to extra stellar.

My strategy too, and the same for the '02. I am probably going to sit on '08 though, and drink more '04/'07. I have an magnum of '06 chilling now for later today.

Love it.

Pretty excited to see this note on the ‘06 Comtes, Blake!! I have two mags, and now I feel comfortable cracking one with some friends!

Awesome Todd. Looking forward to sharing some fine wines with you and the OC gang in a few weeks.

Anyone taste the '12 Comtes?

No 2012 made.

I wonder why? I snapped a picture of these bottles back in 2018 so there looks to be plenty of Millésime.

Btw, the mag of '06 Comtes was mildly corked last night . I will right up this weekend’s Champagne notes later which also included an '04 Krug and '02/'06/'08 Piper Rare.

I thought I had an everlasting supply of '04 and '06, but I’m down to less than a case of each.

I’d like to know why also. So many excellent wines made that vintage.

I did the same thing Warren only it was for 02 and 06.

This would indicate it was made.

I am very happy to hear this and have no problem being wrong. I’m not sure what I was basing my remark on but could swear that I heard somewhere reputable.

We may not be very happy when we see pricing.

Yes, but on the bright side, I think I’ve finally broken my champagne buying addiction. For now, I’m mostly trading old vintages I bought in quantity for new, e.g 2008 DP for 2012. I’m contemplating some Cristal trades as well.
Apologies for thread drift.
Warren