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2005 Champagne Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de Blancs, Brut

  • White
  • Dry
  • Medium Bodied
  • Chardonnay
Jancis Robinson MW
18.5/20
Jeb Dunnuck
95/100
Richard Juhlin
97/100
Stephan Reinhardt
92/100
Antonio Galloni
93+
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Product: 20058012674
2005 Champagne Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de Blancs, Brut

Description

2005 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is finely aromatic, a rich and creamy Blanc de Blancs at its very best. Although the 2005 can be enjoyed from release, a decade of patience will be well rewarded.

When Pierre Taittinger first discovered the Champagne region, he was a young officer during the First World War. He returned several years later to invest his energy into developing a family-owned independent Champagne house in Reims which is still managed by the Taittinger family today. 

Francois Taittinger chose Chardonnay as the dominant grape as he believed that modern tastes would increasingly appreciate the lightness, finesse and elegance of the Chardonnay grape in their flagship offering - Comtes de Champagne - first produced in 1952.

“We will never produce a large quantity of Comtes de Champagne because the technical characteristics we require so that this cuvée can be a very great wine are essentially unique in Champagne and very financially demanding. 

The Comtes de Champagne displays an eternal youth derived from our province’s greatest Chardonnay, a triumphant blend of force and elegance. Connoisseurs will appreciate it.”

Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger

Colour White
Sweetness Dry
Vintage 2005
Alcohol % 12.5
Grape List Chardonnay
Body Medium Bodied
Property Champagne Taittinger

Critics reviews

Jancis Robinson MW 18.5/20
Pale gold and most attractive on the nose with notes of citrus and putty but with admirable density on the palate and such brisk freshness without its tasting like jagged acidity. There is more than a nod to minerality.It tastes thoroughly modern somehow, in a good way. All the elements in this wine, which reminds me a little of the 1995, are beautifully integrated and yield a subtle, powerful finish – yet I’m sure it has a pretty glorious life ahead of it.Drink from 2013 onwardjancis_robinson_mw MW, JancisRobinson.com
Jancis Robinson MW, JancisRobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck 95/100
The 2005 Champagne Blanc de Blancs Comtes De Champagne is a deep, rich, full-bodied beauty that packs serious amounts of fruit and texture while never seeming heavy or rustic. Loaded with notions of orchards fruits, toast, caramelized citrus and distinct minerality, it has a broad, expansive, yet fine mousse, beautiful mid-palate depth and a great, great finish. It’s well worth seeking out.Drink 2017 - 2032jeb_dunnuck, jebdunnuck.com (December 2017)
Jeb Dunnuck, JebDunnuck.com (Dec 2017)
Richard Juhlin 97/100
A truly wonderful wine from the start but slow to develop in the glass this time. As usual, Taittinger succeeds very well in warm, acid-weak vintages, when the neighbours’ wines often appear flat and simplistic.Even though the acidity is not particularly accentuated here either, the vineyards’ aromatic citrus fresh touch leaves a fresh, uplifting side to the creamy, fat smoothness.The finish is certainly chalky and elegant, but it rises to heavenly heights with a 1976-like butterscotch soft, warm, sweet-flavoured embracing pillow.Drink 2014 - 2025Richard Juhlin, Decanter.com
Richard Juhlin, Decanter.com
Stephan Reinhardt 92/100
The 2005 Comtes de Champagne has a beautifully composed nose that is extremely cool, mineral and precise and attracts with highly elegant and discreet bright and fresh fruit aromas (white apples, lemons, grapefruits) along with chalk and hazelnut flavors and nougat. Full-bodied, lovely, pure and quite complex on the palate, this is a fresh, buoyant and firmly structured Comtesse with a persistent minerality and an impressive clarity and freshness. It is quite reduced at the moment and lacks, perhaps, complexity but there is a touch of sweetness and a good chance for further development.Stephan Reinhardt - 30/11/2014
Stephan Reinhardt, RobertParker.com (Nov 2014)
Antonio Galloni 93+
If forced to choose a recent Comtes de Champagne for drinking today, I would gravitate towards the 2005. A beautiful wine, the 2005 has some of the openness of the 2002 mixed with a little of the energy of the 2004, but without the sheer personality of either. Instead, the 2005 impresses for its persistence, harmony and sheer drinkability. Best of all, unlike some recent prior vintages, the 2005 is not going to require any cellaring to offer its best drinking. I would cellar the 2002 and 2004, and drink the 2005 for the next decade-plus. antonio_galloni, Vinous.commedia.com
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com

About this wine

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is often seen as the king of white wine grapes and one of the most widely planted in the world It is suited to a wide variety of soils, though it excels in soils with a high limestone content as found in Champagne, Chablis, and the Côte D`Or. Burgundy is Chardonnay's spiritual home and the best White Burgundies are dry, rich, honeyed wines with marvellous poise, elegance and balance. They are unquestionably the finest dry white wines in the world. Chardonnay plays a crucial role in the Champagne blend, providing structure and finesse, and is the sole grape in Blanc de Blancs.

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