1996 Comtes de Champagne

With its seafood focused menu and bright décor, Bar Le Côte is a very welcome addition to the Santa Barbara wine country dining scene.

This wine was part of a retrospective tasting 1996 Champagne – For The Ages.

Taittinger's tête de cuvée Comtes de Champagne seems to fly under the radar among the region's elite bottles. Savvy consumers know better, though. Comtes de Champagnes is one of the most profound wines readers will come across, particularly with some bottle age. First produced in 1952, Comtes de Champagne has built a track record of excellence equaled by very few Champagnes.

I recently had an opportunity to sit down with proprietor Pierre-Emanuel Taittinger to taste through a dizzying array of older vintages. This tasting was quite special, as a number of bottles were shipped over directly from the estate, guaranteeing perfect provenance. Many of the wines were tasted from recently disgorged bottles. Champagne fans know Taittinger does not offer a late-release/late-disgorged program as the house prefers to issue their wines and then ‘let them live their own lives' to paraphrase Pierre-Emanuel Taittinger. Older vintages are quite rare at Taittinger. It's hard to believe, but the estate began holding back significant quantities of their wines only within the last 20-25 years. So, the late-disgorged bottles in this article – which I have referred to as ‘RD' – are not available in the market. I apologize in advance for reviewing wines readers will not be able to purchase! Still, I thought it was quite instructive to taste the wines, particularly where it was possible to compare the regular release with the ‘RDs'. All of the ‘RD' bottlings were disgorged in late 2009 and shipped over by the estate specifically for this tasting. As one might expect, the ‘RD' wines were quite youthful and fresh, but I have not included maturity dates for those wines as I have no way of knowing how they will age…unless Pierre-Emanuel Taittinger repeats this tasting with the unopened bottles in a few years' time!

Comtes de Champagne is 100% Chardonnay sourced from Oger, Cramant, Avize, Mesnil and Chouilly, all Grand Cru villages, although in some years the estate has also employed vineyards in the Premier Cru village Pierry. Taittinger uses only the juice from the first pressing for Comtes. The wine undergoes malolactic fermentation and roughly 5% of the juice is aged in oak. The total production of Comtes de Champagne ranges from 100,000-300,000 bottles per year.

In the 1970s dosage was often in the 17 grams per liter range. Today dosage is closer to 9-10 grams per liter. Like many houses, Taittinger has lowered dosage over the years in response to warmer growing seasons and overall improved viticultural practices, both of which have resulted in generally riper fruit than was the case in the past. In recent years it has become fashionable to criticize Champagnes with high levels of dosage. Readers who are unhappy with how their wines from 1971, 1973 or 1976 have aged are welcome to send their bottles my way…

Young Comtes de Champagne is intensely mineral and focused, with bright citrus, minerals and flowers dominating the flavor profile. As it ages, Comtes often acquires a signature liqueur-like inner sweetness that is not found in any other mature Champagne. Readers who are familiar with aged Comtes know well the magical qualities the wine acquires over time. At its finest, Comtes is a totally beguiling, compelling Champagne with few peers.

Taittinger's Comtes de Champagne Rosé is an equally brilliant wine with its own impressive track record for developing beautifully in bottle. In its early years the estate's Rosé was made from 100% Pinot Noir, predominantly vinified off the skins, but with the addition of a percentage of still red Pinot. Today it is made through the assemblage of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, plus a percentage of still Pinot, with Pinot accounting for the majority of the blend.

Also recommended: NV Prestige Rose Brut (86). Other wines tasted: NV Nocturne Sec*.