Comtes de Champagne Rosé Champagne 2007

99 points, “Aromas of dried rose petals, cinnamon and nutmeg. Hints of dried meat, smoke and sage. Full body and compact, creamy texture. So fine and delicious… More like a lightly aged, Premier Cru Volnay, but with the magic of Champagne.” – James Suckling

97 points, “The 2007 Comtes de Champagne Rosé is a total knock-out. Racy and exuberant in the glass, the 2007 wraps around the palate with stunning textural depth and resonance. The 15% still Pinot adds structure and persistence to a creamy, inviting Rosé Champagne that will leave readers weak at the knees. Hints of rose petal, dried cherry, cinnamon and dried flowers meld into the sublime finish. This is about as good as it gets. Wow!” – Antonio Galloni

97 points, “It has strawberry, mint, rose petal and cherry notes on the exuberant nose. The palate is racy and creamy, very compact and fresh, with a delicate salty note on the finish.” – Decanter Magazine

96 points, “This is an intense, racy Comtes Rosé with a long future ahead of it.” – Wine Advocate

Comtes de Champagne, Taittinger’s beloved prestige cuvée, is widely acknowledged as being one of the most elegant and intensely aromatic Champagnes on the planet. Made only in exceptional vintages using entirely the first press juice from Grand Cru vineyards. The blend consists of 70% Pinot Noir and 30% Chardonnay, including 15% red wine to impart that rose gold colour, it’s then aged for almost 10 years before being released from the cellar.

The 2007 vintage certainly lived up to all expectations. Dusty pink, it shimmers with the snaking beads of fine bubbles, releasing aromas of rose petals, dried cherry and Christmas spices. On the palate comes a captivating combo of almond croissants, wild strawberries, blackcurrant sorbet, dried flowers, pear, sage butter, waxy pink grapefruit and blood orange, mint, Himalayan pink salt and smoked meat. The complexity is mesmerising, and the breath-taking freshness suggests a long future ahead of it for those with the patience to cellar it.

Taittinger’s vineyards date back to 1734 and were owned by Jacques Fourneaux. The château was bought by Pierre Taittinger in 1932 and the business prides itself on being one of the last remaining independent, family-owned Champagne houses – still run by the name on the label. Their Comtes de Champagne is a wine on an incredible run of form that collectors and connoisseurs should be all over.