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Comtes de Champagne 2002

Taittinger, Champagne, France

Taittinger
Champagne France
  • 97
    Points
  • The 666 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 29 Pros of
    31 recommend
    this wine
670 97
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    568

  • Producer ranking ?

    17

  • Decanting time

    20min

  • When to drink

    now to 2035

  • Food Pairing

    Scampi and caviar toasts

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne 2002 vintage is the best performing Champagne so far this year, according to Liv-ex.

The vintage has risen 46.2% from December 2015 to September of this year and now sits at £1,901 per case of 12, representing an appreciation of 116% over the four years since its release in 2012.

 

The 2000 vintage from the same estate has risen 36.6% over the same period, while Philipponnat’s Clos des Goisses 2004 and...

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The Story

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is the finest expression of the world famous wine from one of the greatest Champagne Houses. First produced in 1952, Comtes is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes from 5 Grand Cru sites in the Côte des Blancs. Showing a pristine pale yellow colour with very light, abundant bubbles which rise uniformly to form a fine mousse. The evocative bouquet opens with notes of pears and fresh cute white flowers. Left in the gla...

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Wine Information

Only 60 000 bottles were made.

Consistently great but from time to time simply divine, Taittinger Comtes de Champagne has consecutively been an apt contender for the title of the best champagne on the market. All recent vintages have been successful; the intense 1996 being one of the finest of the vintage, the 1998 possessing classic Comtes elegance and the 1999 demonstrating a more softer side of Comtes. But in 2000 Taittinger and its repu...

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Vintage 2002

The 2002 vintage is a great one, with long-lasting Chardonnays which are elegant and very aromatic. With its subtly toasted flavour, which just wants to blossom out further, and a legendary delicacy and complexity, the Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2002 is one of the great vintages for the cuvée. Its clear, pale yellow colour is characteristic of a great Chardonnay. The nose is very fresh and develops into a combination of minerality and...

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Average Bottle Price

2024
410€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Medium, Gold and Clear

ending

Long, Smooth and Flavorful

flavors

Toasty, Citrus, Coffee and Honey

nose

Complex, Refined, Fresh and Youthful

recommend

Yes

taste

High in Acidity, Perfectly balanced, Well-structured, Complex, Youthful, Medium-bodied, Fresh, Full, Harmonious and Dry

Verdict

Excellent and Transparent

Written Notes

A glorious blanc de blancs, complex, incredibly long, still tight and focused. Notes of stonefruit, spices, lemon sponge cake and crème brulee. The only reason this did not get 100 was that there was even better to come (which seems a poor, indeed unfair, reason for it not to have scored full whack). 99+.

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  • 99p

Pale lemon yellow. Apples, brioche, spices, bread crumbs, quite yeasty note. Fresh acidity, apples, lemons, fruit driven and lighter, leaner, long finish. 93

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  • 93p

“Bright lemon colour. Restrained yet intense nose still holding back. Beautiful underlying depth and gorgeous toasty layers. A warmer feel than in the 2004. Sweet, bright fruitiness with light spiciness, cinnamon. Superb toasty note. Plenty of character, delivering on every front. Superbly elegant. Regrettably a small-sized vintage for Comtes.”

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  • 96p

If I had to choose just one Blanc de Blancs Champagne to lay down on a regular basis, this would be it. It’s hard to believe the wine is 10 years’ old, given its freshness and perky acidity. Floral, understated, citrus and brioche aromas sashay into a pure, focused, beautifully defined palate showing flavours of citrus, fresh bread and lighty grilled nuts. The finish on the wine goes on for a minute. Great now, but tuck some away if you can keep your hands off it.  

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  • 97p

As the haze cleared the slightly fuller colour of the second flute (Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2002) became more apparent, my earlier acknowledgment that these were from the same vintage now seriously in question.  The nose also expressed more maturity, more enticing and richer. Dave, RB and Mike immediately picked it out as a favourite. The palate was also impressive with a real vinous quality to the mid-palate, very fine and layered. The finish quite extraordinary as if to underline its dominance here, more grip and length. I should have spotted as did Dek to my right that this was a buttery Chardonnay, but it was anything but singular and pure as infant B de B’s often are. In fact it was slightly more evolved than I would have expected this great wine to be at this stage. 94/100. It is probable that the reductive character of the DP was hiding an equally fine potential, time will tell.

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  • 94p

First pressings only. 5% matured in new French oak. 100% malolactic, 10 years on lees. Fine, restrained toast and citrus nose. Complex, powerful palate with ripe fruits, nuts and citrus, as well as some herbiness. Fine structure and good acidity. Very attractive toastiness here, accompanying the ripe citrus and white peach fruit. Hints of vanilla. A lovely wine. 94/100

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  • 94p

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blanc 2002 (Magnum) Very similar to the bottle but, for me, more complete and everso slightly more development and complexity. This seems more developed but also seems to have the balance and structure to keep, but there is a lovely nutty brioche character here.  Very fine. 19

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  • 96p
Denna flaska kom från Livets Goda-redaktionen. Första pressningen enbart. 5% lagrades i ny fransk ek. 100% malolaktisk jäsning, 10 år på bottensatsen. Första gången jag priovade denna var innan en försommarlunch i trädgården bakom La Marquetterie med utsikt över vingårdarna i Pierry. Den var galet stum som helt nydegorgerad. Numer kommer den dock i glaset och är packad med frukt för framtiden (juni’10). Bara tre månader senare kunde man redan se storheten och känna koncentrationen. Denna årgång har man bara gjort 35 000 flaskor, vilket är 100 000 flaskor färre än normalt så det kommer att bli slagsmål om den täta limedoftande muskelknutten när den vaknar upp ur sin törnrosa sömn. Rostade tonen har lagt sig till förmån för en sagolikt fin kanderad lime-ton. Syran bär vinet hele vägen på ett otroligt snyggt sätt. Jag förstår att de 600 flaskorna som släpptes på systembolaget 6 december’12 gick åt som smör.
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  • 96p
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1 official sellers in 1 countries

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Information

Origin

Reims, Champagne

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Good

Investment potential

No Potential

Fake factory

None

Other wines from this producer

Brut La Francaise

Brut Prestige Rosé

Brut Réserve

Brut Réserve FIFA 2014

Collection

Comtes de Champagne Rosé

Comtes de Champagne Rosé Vinothèque

Comtes de Champagne Vinothèque

Cuvée Prestige

Demi-Sec

Future version of Comtes de Champagne

Les Folies de la Marquetterie

Nocturne

Nocturne Rosé

Prelude

Vintage

Inside Information

Consistently great but from time to time simply divine, Taittinger Comtes de Champagne has consecutively been an apt contender for the title of the best champagne on the market. All recent vintages have been successful; the intense 1996 being one of the finest of the vintage, the 1998 possessing classic Comtes elegance and the 1999 demonstrating a more softer side of Comtes. But in 2000 Taittinger and its reputed cellar master Loïc Dupont hit jackpot. This warm, overt vintage produced many heavy and overly ripe champagnes, but in Comtes the richness given by the year is bound to a velvet-smooth texture and a fine, fresh acidity that creates an exiting tension one wishes to marvel time and again.

 


Comtes de Champagne possesses a flawless track record all the way down to its inaugural vintage, 1952. It is reputed to be the first prestige cuvée blanc de blancs, if one does not count the then small mono-cru blanc de blancs Salon. Today it rivals for the title of the best blanc de blancs quite level-headedly with Dom Ruinart, Salon and Charles Heidsieck Blanc des Millenaires.
Why blanc de blancs then? It was already Pierre Taittinger who believed in Chardonnay. Following his instinct, he created the light and elegant Chardonnay-dominant floral and perfumed style as Taittinger’s trademark. Consistent with this vision, the house’s prestige cuvée was to be a 100 percent Chardonnay whose emphasis is on Avize and Mesnil fruit.

 


The wine is produced in a reductionist style in stainless steel vats but since the 1989 vintage a fraction of the wine has been aged in fairly new oak barrels for four months. This gives a boost to the wine’s creamy texture and enhances its hallmark toasty qualities.
After bottling the wines are transported to the ancient Gallo-Roman chalk cellars of Saint-Niçaise to ferment and mature. The St-Niçaise abbey was destroyed in the French Revolution and much later the Taittingers bought the ruins and built their cellars into these monumental historical surroundings. Today, the underground cellar network at St-Niçaise is used entirely for maturing Comtes de Champagne. The rest of production takes place at the modern winery facilities at Rue de la Justice.
Great champagnes are traditionally named after people. Taittinger makes no exception having chosen to honour the region by naming their prestige cuvée Comtes de Champagne – Counts of Champagne. The origins of the Counts of Champagne lie in the 7th century feudal society. Originally, before the 11th century, the Counts of Troyes had had the ruling but during the time of Thibault II the power shifted to the Champagne County whose Count had his residence in Reims. Thibault II was a mighty man ranking only second to the king. However, it was especially during the times of Thibault IV Champagne flourished. He arranged famous 49-day festivities that brought prosperity to the region. The story of the Champagne Counts came to an end finally when the crown and the Champagne County were unites as Louis X rose to power. Taittinger, still owning the historical Comtes de Champagne residence today, named their prestige cuvée to honour this history.


Complex story but complex is the wine, too. The champagne’s smooth, layered character develops over 10 years’ ageing period in the cellars. This, the wine’s attractive 10 g/l dosage and sufficient post-disgorgement rest make Comtes de Champagne such an attractive champagne already upon release.
We toast to congratulate Taittinger. This house that has recently returned back to family hands, has quickly built a strong spirit with Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger at the helm supported by both of his children Clovis and Vitalie.

By Champagne magazine

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