TAITTINGER

A LEGENDARY CUVEE
The Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs is made only from the finest Chardonnay grapes grown in the top grands crus vineyards of the prestigious Côte des Blancs. These include Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Bergères-les-Vertus, Vertus.
Made only in the best vintages and in limited quantities this wine is handcrafted from the first pressings and left to mature in Taittinger’s  4th  century cellars for almost 10 years to create a wine of ultimate elegance, delicacy and finesse whilst displaying great complexity. Discover the secret.

1998 VINTAGE
The 1998 harvest was a great one for both quantity and quality producing grapes with excellent ripeness and acidity. The resulting wines had a good balance of alcohol and acidity – a precondition for long ageing potential and 1998 quickly claimed its place amongst the best vintages. With superb energy and freshness, the Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 1998 is undoubtedly a very fine vintage wine, perfect for drinking now but will also continue to develop for many years when stored in the correct cellar conditions.

COMPOSITION
Comtes de Champagne is only produced when all the conditions, essential to its unique style, are met:
The harvest must be of exceptional quality and worthy of vintage champagne.
It is made exclusively from white Chardonnay grapes (100% grands crus) from the most renowned vineyards of the Côte des Blancs.
Only wines from the first pressing (the ‘Cuvée’) are used. This guarantees the wine’s finesse.
5% of the wines used in the blend are aged in new oak barrels (one third of which are replaced every year), thus enhancing the intrinsic qualities of the final blend.

TASTING
The colour is pale yellow with silvery glints. The bubbles are exceptionally fine and abundant and form a lively and lasting elegant necklace of mousse.
The nose is intensely fine and ethereal, reminiscent of mineral aromas and delicate fragrance of white blossom, with overtones of fresh almonds, vanilla and a subtle hint of pine forests.
The first impression on the palate is of extreme freshness, with dominant flavours of citrus fruits, lemon zest and grapefruit and a lightly acidulous, beautifully balanced finish.
The aftertaste is lively, long and complex.

DRINKING SUGGESTIONS
It is the ideal celebratory wine for rare and intense moments and is perfect to highlight an important event. It makes a wonderful accompaniment to fish and seafood starters (white tuna carpaccio with truffles).