# Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut (2005)

- **Producer:** Champagne Taittinger
- **Colour:** white
- **Type:** sparkling
- **Grapes:** Chardonnay
- **Region:** Champagne, France
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 12.5%
- **Average price:** €205
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 8–10 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** lemon, grapefruit, orange, apple, peach, ginger, brioche, toast, butter, vanilla, hazelnut, honey, almond

## About this wine

Taittinger's Comtes de Champagne is one of the world's most celebrated prestige cuvées, first created in 1952 as a tribute to Thibaud IV, the King of Navarre and Count of Champagne. According to legend, Thibaud IV returned from the Crusades with the ancestor of the Chardonnay grape. Today, the estate is proudly family-owned and managed by the fourth generation of the Taittinger family. The 2005 vintage represents a milestone under the leadership of Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, who initiated a major transition toward sustainable viticulture, including cover-cropping and eliminating chemical herbicides. Sourced entirely from Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte des Blancs, this wine reflects the unique Cretaceous chalk soils of the region, which force the vines to dig deep for water, imparting a distinct saline minerality.

## Interesting facts

- Created in 1952 to honor Thibaud IV, whose 13th-century seal still adorns every bottle of Comtes de Champagne.
- This prestige cuvée was the original favorite Champagne of Ian Fleming's James Bond, appearing in the novel From Russia With Love.
- Aged 18 meters underground in the historic, UNESCO-listed Gallo-Roman chalk pits of Saint-Nicaise Abbey.

## Food pairing

The high acidity and fine mousse of this prestige cuvée cut through rich, creamy textures, while its subtle oak-matured complexity complements sweet shellfish and delicate white meats. The saline minerality from the Côte des Blancs chalk soils acts as a natural flavor enhancer for seafood and caviar.

## Wine making process

The winemaking process for Comtes de Champagne is designed to maximize elegance and longevity. Only the first-press juice, known as the cuvée, is used. The wine undergoes complete malolactic fermentation to soften its natural acidity. To add complexity, five percent of the blend is matured for four months in new toasted French oak barrels, with one-third renewed annually. The bottles are then aged eighteen meters underground in the historic Gallo-Roman chalk pits (crayères) of the former Saint-Nicaise Abbey in Reims. This vintage spent between eight and ten years aging on its lees before being disgorged in March 2015 with a dosage of nine grams per liter of residual sugar.