2008 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs

This bottle of Taittinger's eagerly anticipated 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne had been disgorged in July 2018, and the wine is showing brilliantly, unfurling in the glass with a vivid bouquet of citrus oil, green apple, warm brioche, crushed chalk and blanched almonds. On the palate, it's full-bodied and searingly intense, with striking concentration and incisive but perfectly integrated acids, displaying a fine mousse, and remaining quintessentially elegant despite its undeniable power and persistence. The finest Comtes de Champagne since the brilliant 2002, this is a terrific vintage for this dependably age-worthy cuvée, and though it's already impressive, the wine is built for the long haul: conserved in a cold cellar, the 2008 will still be in fine form three decades from now.