Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 2002

98 Points - Wine Advocate

The 2002 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne is beginning to drink very well, wafting from the glass with a brilliant bouquet that mingles aromas of pear, citrus confit and dried fruits with notions of marzipan, brioche, oyster shell and smoke. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, broad and textural, with a layered and multidimensional core, considerable concentration and a long, penetrating finish. Racy and precise though the wine is, this is a somewhat broader, richer rendition of Comtes than the compelling 2008 that preceded it in this tasting, but it's hard to choose between the two in terms of quality. (WK)

98 Points - Vinous

We started with a sensational 2002 Taittinger Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne. My word, this is exquisite, representing everything I adore in champagne. Limpid gold in hue, it has a compelling bouquet of walnut, smoke, dried honey and shucked oyster shells that I found utterly entrancing. The palate does not disappoint, displaying an irresistible rounded texture and perfectly pitched acidity that cuts through the flavors of lemon curd, orange pith and crushed stone. It was as if this champagne tries to give you everything you desire, and does it with such aplomb that you cannot help but be smitten. I have no doubt that it will cruise at a high altitude for many years. (NM)

96 Points - John Gilman

In contrast to the still youthful 2004 Comtes de Champagne, the 2002 vintage of this wine is now fully into its apogee at age twenty and is drinking with spectacular generosity today. The bouquet is wide open, complex, vibrant and compelling, delivering scents of pear, tangerine, fresh-baked bread, a refined base of chalky soil tones, sweet almond and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, crisp and complex, with a great core of fruit, lovely mineral undertow, elegant mousse and a perfectly balanced, long and precise finish. I have loved this vintage of Comtes de Champagne since its initial release and it is now drinking at its peak, albeit still with decades of life ahead of it!