Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2014 (75cl, 12.5%)

Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2014 is the house's prestige cuvée, made entirely from Grand Cru Chardonnay in a 75cl bottle. The grapes come from the Côte des Blancs, mainly the villages of Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger. Around 5% of the base wines are vinified in new oak barrels, and the cuvée then spends roughly ten years on its lees in the chalk cellars beneath Reims. Comtes de Champagne was first made from the 1952 vintage. The nose combines white flowers, crushed chalk, lemon zest and toasted brioche. On the palate, citrus and green apple give way to poached pear, hazelnut and buttery pastry, carried by a very fine mousse and a saline thread.