Champagne Brut
Comtes de Champagne Rosé 2013

The Champagne Comtes de Champagne Rosé by Taittinger is the rarest and most ambitious expression of the Maison's style, produced only in exceptional years and able to capture history, terroir and vision in a single bottle. Its name pays tribute to Thibaud IV, Count of Champagne and King of Navarre, whose seal still appears on every label and who, according to tradition, brought the ancestral Chardonnay vines back to France on his return from distant expeditions. First released in 1952 as a Blanc de Blancs, the Comtes de Champagne cuvée found an equally iconic interpretation in the Rosé, where the power of the great Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims meets the chalky finesse of Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs.

This edition, Vintage 2013, tells the story of a year with an exceptionally late and cool growing cycle, marked by flowering that only began in early July, an unprecedented event in Champagne, and by a bright, warm and dry summer that brought the grapes to ideal ripeness before a harvest that began on 24 September in cool conditions, which preserved elegance and tension. The blend shows a prevalence of Pinot Noir grapes (60%) from the Grands Crus of Mailly-Champagne, Bouzy and Ambonnay in the Montagne de Reims, completed by 40% Chardonnay grapes from the Grands Crus of Chouilly, Avize and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger in the Côte des Blancs. Vinification and fermentation take place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks to preserve the precision of the fruit. Colour, depth and aromatic intensity come from the addition of 12 to 15% vin rouge de Bouzy. After tirage, the wine ages on the lees for around twelve years in the stillness of the Gallo-Roman crayères of Saint-Nicaise, carved into the chalk beneath Reims, a long maturation that refines the texture of the perlage and adds complex nuances to the bouquet, before the final dosage, in Brut style, discreetly supports its natural energy.

On tasting, Comtes de Champagne Rosé 2013 shows a salmon-pink hue with a fine, lively and crystalline perlage. The nose is delicate and seductive, opening with rose petals and moving towards wild strawberries, raspberry, cherry and pomegranate, with a slightly bitter nuance. As the wine opens, spicy accents, blond tobacco and fresh leather emerge. On the palate the attack is fresh and taut, driven by a vibrant acidity woven with notes of mandarin, pink grapefruit and blood orange. The silky effervescence carries a firm and balanced structure through to a long, elegant and highly persistent finish.