2012 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne

From a high-maturity vintage shaped by a mid-September harvest and reduced yields owing to significant frost and mildew pressure, the 2012 Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne—disgorged in 2022 with a dosage of nine grams per liter—is showing nicely, offering aromas of mocha, pear, peach and dried flowers mingled with notes of browned, buttered toast. Full-bodied, deep and muscular, with a sweet, enveloping core of fruit, it is an ample and textural Comtes, though without the tension of the 2013 or 2014 editions, and it will age on its concentration rather than its acidity.

From the Grand Crus of Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger, and Oger, the 2012 Champagne Blanc De Blancs Comtes De Champagne comes back swinging after last year's release and assumes a more noble and layered profile. Displaying a bright golden yellow hue, it has fantastic aromatic complexity, with wonderful custardy and classic aromas of lemon curd, crème brûlée, shortbread, and honeysuckle. The nose is hard to resist, and on the palate, it’s full-bodied, with a refined and pillowy mousse and a delicate warmth on the finish. It hits a lot of the right marks in this vintage, offering plenty of purity and balance, and will certainly provide a very wide drinking window for enjoyment. It’s just such a pleasurable wine, 2012 marks an exceptional return for this cuvée, which will have another 2-3 decades of life ahead.

This is a fantastic and refined Blanc de Blancs. So layered and complex, with lemon curd, chalk, hazelnuts, pastries, baked apples and almond croissants. Structured and tightly wound, with almost imperceptible bubbles. Delicious salty notes at the end. Beautiful. Drink or hold.