The Taittinger Comtes Thread

[Ray.Tuppa_sch]

@alan weinberg

@R@y.Tupp@+sch

@Jayson Cohen

My favorite vintages since 1985 (earlier tastes being few and far between) are 1995, 1996, 2002, and 2004. In a 1996 horizontal with about 12 or 13 Champagnes in 2016, the CdC was just a hair below Salon in (I think) everyone’s estimation of “best”, although we were unfortunately missing a couple possible challengers that day due to a last minute cancellation (Churchill and Krug). And I personally think the 1995 is drinking even better than 1996 right now although who knows if that will last. Jay opened 2002 recently and that may be the sweet spot right now in terms of QPR if you hunt for a good price.

I agree with you that the '95 is drinking better than the '96, but the gap isn’t as large as it once was. While the '96 has progressed very well, I do still think there is a large gap between it and the very best of the '96’s (CdM, better examples of Salon, Cristal and Krug).
'99 CdC is my favorite Champagne from the vintage and is probably the Champagne I’ve consumed most often over the past couple of years.

what’s your 06 opinion?

Alan,

Assuming you are asking my opinion, I think it’s good/very good but have only had a few bottles from the same case, so I’m sure I have only tasted one disgorgement. I’m assuming it was the initial one based on the fact I bought it in Europe upon its release. I think it is a vintage to consume on the earlier side and not to cellar for many decades.

[B_Buzzini]

I’ve had 4 similar bottles of this…

• 2006 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne - France, Champagne (12/15/2016)
  Mmmmmm this is tasty! Like taking a razor blade through a pillow…the citrus is SO fresh and alive, tingles the palate with tiny popping bubbles…I always wanted to invent the Champagne Pop Rocks candy!..lemon, ginger, bosc pear…then this amazing pillow softness(like a reddi whip hit) comforts with a coating of creme…vanilla, lite caramel, bread dough…and all the great terroir likes of burgundy brings to the chard grape with the savory minerality, chalky limestone dust…floral pretties as well. Youthful fo sho right now, but the texture is where it’s at! Flavors are tasty, but age will bring out the OMG’s…you definitely need a LOT of these in the cellar! +pts (96 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker


And 1 bottle of this…

• 2006 Taittinger Champagne Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne - France, Champagne (10/25/2017)
  This bottle was from a different case purchase and NOT at all like the glorious 4 bottles I’ve had previous. Acidic and angular, no pillow softness and finesse like the first 4? Second day not any better.

Posted from CellarTracker

I’m scared to open another bottle of the latter as I have 11 bottles left from that case!

[rick_m]

i also had been fortunate to have '06 dozen of time last year along with few rose and they have been very consistent scoring 94-96 pts. i need to keep my hands off them for while to see how it will age…

[Ray.Tuppa_sch]

Older vintages of CdC have been some of the greatest Champagnes I’ve consumed. Specifically the '59, '61, '62, '66, '71 and '76 have been at or near the very top of the Champagne hierarchy in those vintages.

[Yao_C]

This thread inspired me to buy 1995 CdC at auction. Would you all go older & if so how much older? I have no idea how long lived it tends to be

[craig_v]

For me, best value in Tete Cuvee and my all round favorite glass of champagne. Blown away by the '96 near release and have been buying regularly ever since. I don’t buy much champagne priced between $40 & $90. I mostly buy stuff around $30-$35 and when I want a noticeable jump, head turning experience Comte is my 1st choice and its a tremendous value even at $110-$125/btl. Another super great thing about Comte is it drinks fantastic almost immediately while showing perfect balance & very complex. I prefer my champagnes closer to release in general anyhow.

[Jay_Miller]

@Yao C

This thread inspired me to buy 1995 CdC at auction. Would you all go older & if so how much older? I have no idea how long lived it tends to be

The 1995 is amazing right now. I wouldn’t worry about holding it but unlike the 1996 it doesn’t need it.

It’s a little frightening to realize that the 1995 is about as old now as that 1979 was back when I tried it and got hooked on Comtes.

[Don_Brazelton]

Also had the ‘95 on New Years Eve. It was the wine of the night. Beautiful and complex.

[Yao_C]

Does anyone know if the wine that Taittinger puts into their Collection series (for example) is the same or different from what goes into CdC? I’ve had the 1981 Arman and the 1990 Corneille and the latter was really excellent

[Russell_Faulkner]

Not Comtes. The same as the regular Vintage (according to Juhlan and others)

[Brad_Baker]

To build on what Russell said above - except for the first release in 1978, it is the same wine as the regular vintage except with a little more lees aging as it is normally disgorged a couple years after the last batch of the regular vintage release.

[Russell_Faulkner]

Thanks Brad!

[R_Nanda]

Great thread.

We did an 8-vintage vertical of CdC (along with an 8-vintage vertical of Krug side-by-side) back a few weeks ago. To my surprise, I preferred the CdC vertical over the Krug vertical … and save the '02 Krug, I preferred CdC in each vintage where we had both. 95 and 96 CdC were my wines of the night (followed by 02 and 96 Krug).

[R_Frankel]

While I find young CDC to be powerful, I really prefer them with moderate age. Right now the ‘90 and ‘96 are in prime drinking windows, with the 1990 showing more age and development, though in no way tired (at least the small handful of bottles I’ve had). So that means I’m sitting on my 2002 and 2006s for at least another few years, probably more. In the meantime I’ll try to source some 1995, 1999, and find some 2004 and 2005 if I can.

[MChang]

Weird that they’d make 05 but not 09…

[Shannon_Perdue]

The 95 and 96 are a dynamic duo with the 95 being a favorite wine of all time for me. Love it!

[AAgrawal]

@Warren Taranow

The current release is 2006, which hit the market in late 2015. I’ve read a lot of posts of people passing on the '06 to wait for the '08, which I think is a mistake. The next release will be the 2007, possibly late this year. The will be little of the 2007 released, due to an early harvest in a hot vintage.

The earliest we’ll see the 2008 is late 2019. After that, we’ll have to wait for the 2012, as there will be no Comte produced from the 2009, 2010, or 2011 vintages.

I saw my first offer on the 2007 at $120, about the same as what the '06 was running. Has anyone tried it? There’s only 1 CT note.

[scamhi]

@dbailey

Good to hear about the 06 rose as I just bought some!

I bought some too.

[Mike_Hawkins]

I tried the 07 a few years ago with Pierre Emmanuel. Good for the vintage, but qualitatively on par with the 2005. That said, please buy lot of 2007, as it will hasten the release of the 2008 ! (An unbelievably great wine).

[David_R0sewater]

Had an ‘89 CDC BdB a few weeks ago and it was great - round and nutty but plenty of freshness. Easily the best QPR among tet de cuvées.