Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2012 (1.5L)

99 Points, James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com: "This is a fantastic and refined Blanc de Blancs. So layered and complex, with lemon curd, chalk, hazelnuts, pastries, baked apples and almond croissants. Structured and tightly wound, with almost imperceptible bubbles. Delicious salty notes at the end. Beautiful. Drink or hold." 12/22

96 Points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous: "The 2012 Comtes de Champagne is gorgeous. Warm and resonant in the glass, the 2012 Comtes shows all the allure that makes this vintage so appealing. The combination of bright citrus, mineral and floral notes typical of Comtes, enhanced by the soft contours of the vintage, makes for an inviting, open-knit Champagne that is quite showy right out of the gate. Light tropical accents on the finish add an exotic flair. Usually I recommend cellaring just-released Comtes, but that won’t be necessary here." 05/22

95+ Points, William Kelley, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The 2012 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne is showing beautifully out of the gates, offering up demonstrative aromas of sweet golden orchard fruit, buttery croissants, peach and hazelnuts. Medium to full-bodied, pillowy and enveloping, it's a rich, textural, vinous Comtes somewhat reminiscent of the brilliant 2002. If it gains in tension and cut (as the 2002 did and as I suspect the 2012 will) with more time on cork, it will make this initial rating seem conservative." 10/22

97 Points, John Gilman, View from the Cellar: “The 2012 vintage of Comtes de Champagne is one of the finest young examples of this iconic bottling I have had the pleasure to taste, though it will be a long distance runner and really is not even close to ready to drink at nine years of age. As has been customary for several vintages now, about five percent of the vins clairs were barrel-fermented and aged in cask. The wine was given fully a decade aging sur latte and finished with a dosage of nine grams per liter. The bouquet is deep, pure and nascently complex, wafting from the glass in a mix of pear, apple, brioche, a beautiful base of chalky minerality, almond, honeysuckle, a whisper of buttery oak and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and rock solid at the core, with a brisk girdle of acidity, superb focus and grip, utterly refined mousse and a long, complex and impeccably balanced finish. Tuck this away in the cellar for at least the next six of seven years and allow it to blossom fully!” 05/23

96 Points, Alison Napjus, Wine Spectator: "A gorgeous blond bombshell of a Champagne, fragrant with roasted hazelnut, vanilla and smoke notes that waft through layers of poached pear and quince, pastry cream, pain d'épices and candied ginger. This is sculpted by a vibrant acidity that's seamlessly knit to the plush, silky mousse and chalky underpinning. Drink now through 2033. 1,500 cases imported." 03/23