Taittinger Comtes De Champagne 2004 (750ML)

97 VM / 96 DE / 95 JM / 94 WS / 18.5 JR

Taittingers 2004 Comtes de Champagne was fabulous from the very first time I tasted it during dosage trials. Today, a few years after its initial release, the 2004 is a poignant reminder of how sensational the 2004 vintage is in the Cote des Blancs. A wine of cool, steely reserve, the 2004 Comtes de Champagne bristles with salivating energy. Citrus, white flowers, slate and mineral notes all grace the palate, but it is the wines crystalline freshness and tension that stand out above all else. The 2004 has not budged much since it was first released. It remains pointed, tightly wound and built for cellaring. I have said it before, but I will say it again. Comtes de Champagne routinely delivers the highest level of quality for the money in tete de cuvee Champagne. Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

It was a dry vintage up to August, which turned exceptionally wet and cool. September saved the vintage with the ideal weather conditions - low rainfall and cool nights. The graceful nose opens to white flowers, ripe apricot and citrus hints. It is tense and refined, with a vivid mineral core balanced by pristine acidity and some toasted notes on the finish. It's not the most expressive today, but wait for it to awaken. This is built for cellaring. - Christelle Guibert, Decanter

A wine of cut and vigour, 2004s had an atypical pumped-up sweetness to the fruit on release (often with a flowery-herbaceous edge). Now fully mature, the wine possesses a quilty, toasty bouquet. The oily Chardonnay maturity on the finish combines with the wine's underlying richness to give that succulent lemon-sweetness aroma to die for (a common feature of 20th-century releases of Comtes, less so in the 21st!). It will hold at this sublime level for the next few years, but it is definitely at its peak! Drink from 2023-2032. Tasted: 15-Dec-22.--Stephen Pritchard, Inside Burgundy

A rich and enticing aroma of roasted hazelnut heralds this elegant blanc de blancs, with flavors of pastry, poached apple, crystallized honey and candied ginger riding the finely detailed mousse. This is a touch smoky, presenting a resonant minerality on the finish. Drink now through 2029. 500 cases imported. Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator

Tasted blind. Deep straw with a yellowish tinge that’s a bit greener than the 2002. But it smells more evolved! Brisk and energetic. More youthful than the earlier vintage but with great promise and persistence. Bready, rich, - Jancis Robinson