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The light rust and amber color is enticing. Aromas of dried rose petals, cinnamon and nutmeg. Hints of dried meat, smoke and sage. Full body and compact, creamy texture. So fine and delicious. Great, subtle and complex flavors. More like a lightly aged, premier cru Volnay, but with the magic of Champagne. Drink now.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2007 Comtes de Champagne Rosé is a total knock-out. Racy and exuberant in the glass, the 2007 wraps around the palate with stunning textural depth and resonance. The 15% still Pinot adds structure and persistence to a creamy, inviting Rosé Champagne that will leave readers weak at the knees. Hints of rose petal, dried cherry, cinnamon and dried flowers meld into the sublime finish. This is about as good as it gets. Wow!Antonio Galloni | 97 AGThe Comtes de Champagne Rosé is composed of 30% Chardonnay (Grands Crus from Côtes de Blancs), 70% Pinot Noir (Grands Crus from Montagne de Reims, including 15% Pinot Noir from Bouzy, vinified as red wine). It has strawberry, mint, rose petal and cherry notes on the exuberant nose. The palate is racy and creamy, very compact and fresh, with a delicate salty note on the finish.Decanter | 97 DECThis bottle of Taittinger’s just-released 2007 Brut Comtes de Champagne Rosé was disgorged in December 2018, and it’s showing brilliantly, unfurling in the glass with a complex bouquet of blood orange, minty raspberries, red plums, dried flowers and warm brioche. On the palate, it’s medium to full-bodied, chalky and tensile, sharing a racy, chiseled profile with its Blanc de Blancs cousin. Deep, concentrated and tightly wound, the wine concludes with a long, sapid finish. This is an intense, racy Comtes Rosé with a long future ahead of it. As has been the norm chez Taittinger for several years now, the blend is based upon 70% Pinot Noir and includes 15% still red wine from Bouzy.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThis harmonious rosé Champagne offers quiet grace, with a pleasing juiciness to the sleek acidity, framing finely knit flavors of raspberry, peach, brioche and candied pink grapefruit zest. Showing a raw silk–like texture, this caresses the palate through to the fresh, ginger-laced finish. Drink now through 2027. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 550 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

The 2009 Cuvee Madame, composed of 100% Sémillon, is pale lemon-gold in color with a beguiling fragrance of peach blossoms, mandarin peel, jasmine and allspice with core of pineapple, lemon pie, peach preserves and ginger plus a waft of musk perfume. Very big, powerful and seductive with decadent richness and loads of spice and floral layers accenting the ripe stone fruit flavors, it finishes with epic persistence.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPThe 2009 Coutet Cuvée Madame is the fifteenth release due in January 2019. It is a slightly larger production than the usual 1,200 bottles: 1,900 bottles produced of which 1,600 are planned for release. It has a very complex bouquet with dried honey, barley sugar, orange zest, frangipane and hints of ginger. This just takes a little while to coalesce. The palate is a party in the mouth with an effervescent entry, Clementine, honey, a touch of Chinese 5-spice and ginger, certainly one of the spicier Cuvée Madames that I have tasted with pain d’épices on the finish. Superb.Vinous Media | 96 VM

Tasted out of barrel at the Domaine. A little muted at first, the Bonnes-Mares suddenly wakes up in the glass and offers a taut, mineral rich bouquet with great definition. The palate is supple on the entry, a slight gourmand note on the back palate, building nicely with a slight savoury, sinewy finish with a digest if after taste. Tasted November 2010.Robert Parker Neal Martin | 91-93 RP-NM(Domaine Drouhin-Laroze Bonnes Mares Grand Cru Red) This is also quite restrained, indeed almost shy with a muted nose of dark berry fruit and earth that gives way to extremely fresh, supple and surprisingly forward flavors that almost instantly tighten up into a backwards and very firm and austere finish. This is a classically styled and proportioned Bonnes Mares that will require at least 15 years of cellar time. (Drink starting 2024).Burghound | 91-93 BH

A firm, fresh Comtes with a tight and composed palate. It’s full-bodied with a racy mid-palate. Long and persistent. Very structured with phenolics and acidity. Minerally. Floral, too. Refreshing and energetic. September 2021 release. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 97 JS100% Chardonnay sourced from five grand cru villages: Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger. Superb bouquet revealing scents of mirabelle plums, orchard fruits, brioche, pastry, and liquorice, complicated by classy autolytic notes. On the palate, this remarkable 2011 has a tauter and more fine-boned texture than usual, which is enhanced by bubbles of striking finesse and delicacy. This is indeed a very refined, chamber-music-like Comtes de Champagne that ends ethereally with airy harmonics and chalky notes infused with candied lemon. Dosage: 9g/L. Disgorged: April 2021. Drinking Window 2021 - 2040.Decanter | 94 DECAfter the tightly coiled, hyper-concentrated 2008, Taittinger’s 2011 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne represents a more immediate, charming rendition of this cuvée. Bursting from the glass with aromas of orchard and stone fruit mingled with notions of pastry cream, blanched almonds and mandarin, it’s medium to full-bodied, pillowy and fleshy, with a soft and enveloping profile, lively acids and a pretty pinpoint mousse. Readers might think of the 2011 as a somewhat less reductive and less intense stylistic sibling of the 2006, and as it takes on more toasty complexity with bottle age, it will make for immensely seductive drinking.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 94 RPA minerally version, with smoke and saline notes deftly meshed with flavors of glazed apple, lemon-infused pastry cream and marzipan. This is fine and softly creamy in texture, with lemony acidity providing good definition through to the lightly toasty finish. Elegant. Drink now through 2030. 2,800 cases imported. Wine Spectator | 93 WS

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.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 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.Antonio Galloni | 96 AGThe 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.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95+ RPMade from equal parts Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, this still young Champagne is rich in the Taittinger style, with an elegant poise that is impressive. The wine, with its apricot and ripe apple fruit, is generously tempered by bright acidity and a crisp edge. Drink from 2021.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WERipe blackberry, pastry cream and lemon meringue notes are layered on the fine and creamy mousse in this lightly toasty, well-balanced Champagne. Bright and mouthwatering, with a sleek, spiced finish. Drink now through 2027. 7,500 cases made, 450 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

They are fortunate to have more than a hectare in all, spread between Poulaillères, Treux and En Orveaux. Huge density of purple colour. Very smooth and silky on the nose. Sensual. There is a nice little bit of tension behind with a welcome touch of natural acidity. Tasted: November 2019.Jasper Morris | 95-97 JMThe 2018 Echézeaux Grand Cru has a fragrant, perfumed bouquet with violet and iris petals infusing shimmering black cherry and wild strawberry fruit; touches of orange pith emerge with time. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannins and very harmonious, showing a velvety texture that is very sleek and tempting. A lovely Echezeaux.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

Tentative hints of red currant and red cherry escape from this wine’s shy nose. The palate adds hints of flinty reduction as well as subtle creaminess that cushions the firm stucture. Wonderful freshness highlights fine-boned tannins that are firm and filigreed in equal measure. A concentrated core radiates red-berry tartness and aroma heightened by the freshness of this svelte but well-cut wine.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE(Domaine du Clos Frantin (Nuits St. Georges) - Domaines Albert Bichot Echézeaux Grand Cru Red) A notably ripe and very spicy nose combines notes of cassis, blue berry, violet and sandalwood. The seductive and velvet-textured middle weight flavors possess both good volume and plenty of sappy dry extract that mostly buffers the firm tannic spine shaping the balanced if youthfully austere finish that exhibits outstanding length. This too is very good and will need extended patience. (Drink starting 2033)Burghound | 93 BHA densely packed, fruity style, this boasts macerated cherry, raspberry, vanilla and toast flavors. It feels balanced for the most part, with chalky tannins lining the finish that should integrate in a year or two. Vibrant and long. Best from 2023 through 2038. 300 cases made, 97 cases imported. Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2018 Bonnes-Mares Grand Cru contains 30% whole clusters. It has a perfumed bouquet of blackberry, hints of cassis, crushed violet and touches of potpourri, very well defined and focused and delivering the intensity one expects from this growing season. The palate is medium-bodied with very fine tannins and just the right amount of acidity. Wonderful harmony and composure here, gently unfolding toward a satin-textured finish that lingers long in the mouth. Bon vin!.Vinous Media | 94-96 VMThe Drouhins’ 1ha of Bonnes Mares is entirely located on red soils and was planted in different stages. Fermented with 30% stems and aged in 80% new wood, this is a plush, layered, well upholstered Pinot Noir, exhibiting the ripeness of the vintage, fine-grained tannins and more than enough acidity and minerality for balance. Comparatively well priced, too. Drinking Window 2026 - 2033.Decanter | 96 DEC(Domaine Drouhin-Laroze Bonnes Mares Grand Cru Red) Here the wood treatment overwhelms the nuance of the dark berry fruit aromas. Otherwise there is slightly better size and weight to the medium-bodied flavors that possess a succulent and juicy mid-palate before terminating in a chewy and serious but not drying finish that offers notably better persistence. (Drink starting 2033).Burghound | 89-92 BH

A slightly cooler and higher-toned if less spicy nose reflects notes of various red berries, especially cherry, along with plenty of earth is again trimmed in enough wood to notice. There is fine volume to the round, fleshy and suave medium weight flavors that exhibit good power on the lingering finish that also displays hints of warmth and bitter cherry pit character. This broad-shouldered effort is going to require at least moderate patience.Burghound | 92 BH

Very spicy aromas of various red and dark berries possess a mentholated top note. There is again excellent volume to the sleek and tautly muscular flavors that possess a gorgeous mouthfeel, all wrapped in a powerful, sappy and lingering finish where a hint of warmth emerges. This too is going to require extended patience. (Drink starting 2034)Burghound | 93 BH

A ripe and generous Corton-Charlemagne with a caramelized-pear aroma, but the stony character that’s typical for the site is the dominant aspect of the wine. Serious structure here! Drink or hold.James Suckling | 95 JSFrom holdings located in the south-facing climat Les Languettes, Drouhin produced three barrels of the 2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru (Domaine), a medium to full-bodied, layered and nicely concentrated wine that’s bright and structured, evocative of white flowers, pomelo, orange oil and buttery pastry.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RPThe 2019 Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru was a small yield this year, with just three barrels produced instead of the usual six. It has an understated bouquet of light dandelion and patisserie aromas. The well-balanced palate displays fine delineation and a tang of marmalade toward the finish. This is a nicely composed Corton-Charlemagne, though I wager it will be best consumed within its first decade. Vinous Media | 92-94 VMProminent aromas of mineral reduction and floral elements are laced with hints of wood toast, citrus peel, apple and anise. The sleekly muscular and stony big-bodied flavors are also nicely refined yet powerful while possessing excellent delineation on the youthfully austere finale. This is clearly ripe yet manages to retain the style of a classic CC.Burghound | 92-94 BHFrom a 0.33ha, domaine-owned parcel in Aloxe with an eastern exposition and densely planted 40-year-old vines on thin soils over the limestone bedrock. The fruit is pressed as whole bunches and fermented on native yeasts in cask (one-quarter new) to give a lovely definition of fruit that stretches from green apple to apricot, with hints of smoke, spice, and mineral. On the palate, the texture is broad yet well balanced by firm acidity on the lingering finish. Drinking Window 2024 - 2039.Decanter | 93 DEC

The 2019 Echézeaux Grand Cru (Domaine Louis Jadot) is very promising, exhibiting incipiently complex aromas of raspberries, cassis, candied peel, burning embers and potpourri, followed by a medium to full-bodied, charming and vibrant palate that’s broad and enveloping, with lively acids and fine, powdery structuring tannins.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93-95 RP(Maison Louis Jadot Echézeaux Grand Cru Red) A much spicier if less earthy nose is more deeply pitched with its aromas of poached plum, exotic tea, black cherry and a whiff of sandalwood. The round, supple and surprisingly forward mid-palate of the medium-bodied flavors contrasts immediately with the very firm, markedly powerful and moderately austere finish. This too is excellent and while it’s not a refined Echézeaux (examples from Les Rouges du Bas rarely are), it is not only imposing but offers fine development potential as well. (Drink starting 2036)Burghound | 92-95 BHThe 2019 Echézeaux Grand Cru has a pleasant bouquet of predominantly red fruit laced with cedar, autumn leaves and Earl Grey, gently unfolding in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins and fine balance and poise. There is a slightly grainy texture toward a finish of modest length. This should evolve into a sedate but appealing Echézeaux.Vinous Media | 92-94 VM

Tightly wound and dense, this red isn’t revealing much today other than plenty of black cherry, blackberry and dark plum flavors packed into an elegant frame. Features violet, vanilla and toasty oak elements, which add depth as this cruises to a lingering, bitter chocolate finish. Shows fine freshness and harmony. Best from 2026 through 2045. 336 cases made, 35 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 95 WSProduced from a blend of Echézeaux du Dessus (80%) and Les Quartier de Nuits (20%), the grapes are fermented after a cold soak with 30% whole clusters. The fruit is punched down and racked into cask (80% new) for 18 months of ageing. The result is forceful and muscular; there is a pleasantly ripe plum and fig fruit with hints of earth, leather and smoke. The wine is tannic and firm - it seems a bit disjointed at present but should come together for the long term. I suggest waiting five years, and then drinking it over the next twenty.Decanter | 94 DECA very ripe nose features notes of chocolate, menthol, cassis and a variety of spice elements, all of which is trimmed in generous but not invasive wood. The suave, round and velvety flavors are also rich to the point of opulence before tightening up quickly into a very firmly structured and tightly wound finish that displays very fine length. This compact and quite serious effort is going to require extended patience.Burghound | 91-94

The 2020 Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru has a very pure and quite precocious bouquet with black cherries, crushed violet and peony aromas, actually not unlike a Romanée-Saint-Vivant in style. Thet palate is succulent on the entry with candied orange peel infusing the mainly black fruit that merges into more red fruit towards the velvety finish. Quite gorgeous. (Drink between 2026-2048)Vinous Media | 94-96 VMA fresh and unusually expressive nose features notes of red and dark cherry, white pepper and a hint of kirsch. The delicious and intense middle weight flavors possess fine depth and persistence on the equally youthfully austere finale that is also sufficiently austere to easily repay 12+ years of cellaring. Fine quality here. (Drink starting 2032)Burghound | 92-94 BH

(Domaine Michel Magnien Clos St. Denis Grand Cru Red) A wonderfully layered nose is the most complex in the range with its blend of dark cherry, exotic tea, spice elements and lovely violet scents, all trimmed in just enough wood to merit mentioning. The refined and caressing middle weight flavors possess solid punch and excellent depth and persistent. This is at once classy and stylish and a wine that should age effortlessly on its balance. (Drink starting 2032)Burghound | 92-94 BH