Ed Chin

9.2

Racy acidity and really enjoyable. What was lacking was the amount of fruit that screams Chenin. — 2 months ago

Alex Lallos

Owner No Limit Fine Wines, Private Wine Consultant

9.1

I had this two years ago and it tasted like alcohol and water. Wierd for a 12% abv wine? Now it’s pretty special. Beaming with acidity and really pretty stone fruit. Shows varietal character but not too cheesie like chenin can be. Reminds me of a boudignon Anjou or so. Really nice teagen!!!! — 2 years ago

Jeremy Shanker

Sommelier at RN74

8.9

Boudignon on a budget — 3 years ago

Nick Farrell

9.5

Very nice but not honeyed. — 3 years ago

Michael Greene

9.2

Under ripe pears. This is super dry and nervy. — 3 months ago

Josh Morgenthau

9.6

The 2020 version of this cuvée once again notches into my top white wines ever. Elements are in balance and working with vim and vigor. Body is full, acid is bright and crystalline but somehow tender (that’s relative - it is still scorching). And the texture is world class. The floral and confectionary perfumes that emerge in time layered over wool and slate simply steal the show.

New Year, and let’s be honest the world seems to be hurtling past the point of no return into a black hole of shit, but I’m thankful for Roches Neuves / Boudignon / Huet / Closel and the other guiding lights of Loire Chenin, making what I maintain is some of the best wine on earth and selling it for a pittance (even at $80 this is a value) Until everyone else wises up, I will just be over here with my other Chenin zealots (here’s looking at you @Peter van den Besselaar ) nursing bottles of Saumur, Savennieres and Anjou and laughing at our good fortune. Not dry, #cheninjanuary — a year ago

David T

Independent Sommelier/Wine Educator

9.5

Well...this was one hell of a week. There is only one way to wind it down. Reach for an excellent bottle of vintage Champagne.

My first thoughts are how delicate this is on the palate. Further, how unbelievable it will be with another 8-10 years in bottle.

The nose shows; slightly sour lemon, the good parts of lemon Pledge, lemon meringue, white stone fruits, pineapple fresh with lots of juice, grapefruit, lime pulp, honeysuckle, soft, haunting caramel, brioche, limestone & slightly, dirty, grey volcanics, saline, sea fossils, sea spray, bread dough, vanilla, white spices-light ginger with spring flowers, mixed floral greens & lilies.

The body is light on its feet and dances on the palate. Delicacy abounds. Its soft, gorgeous mousse right there with the best money can buy. Slightly sour lemon, lemon meringue, green & with more bruised golden apple, white stone fruits, pineapple fresh with lots of juice, grapefruit, lime pulp, touch of apple cider, honeysuckle, soft, haunting caramel, ginger ale into cream soda, brioche, nougat, toffee notes, lighter nuts without skin, limestone & slightly, dirty, grey volcanics, saline, sea fossils, sea spray, bread dough, vanillin, marzipan, white spices-light ginger with spring flowers, mixed floral greens & lilies. The acidity is mellow yet lively, gorgeous and as good as it gets. The finish is all luxury. So well knitted & balanced, elegant, rich but not overpowering and gently persisting several minutes.

Photos of; The House of Taittinger, their caves so chalky white and built on the famous Crayères Cellars of Reims: 2.5 miles of tunnels (they own 1/4 to 1/3 of it) cut out of chalk by the Romans, the portrait of Thibaud IV who was a king, lord, manager, singer, conqueror, explorer & 11th century Crusader all rolled into one from which, this Cuvée was the catalyst creation and part of the 600 plus hectares they own in Champange.

Some producer notes; Taittinger's history can be traced back to 1734, when it was originally known as Forest-Fourneaux, founded by Jacques Fourneaux who worked closely with local Benedictine monks to learn how to produce wine. They were just the 3rd Champange house.

The estate was bought by the Taittingers – a family of wine merchants – in 1932, and thanks to the great depression and subsequent low land prices, the family also picked up huge swathes of vineyard. From 1945-1960, Francois Taittinger established the cellars in the Abbey of Saint-Nicaise, and after his death in 1960 his brother Claude took over, pushing the estate into a Champagne house of world renown. Such was the status of the label that the Taittinger family soon expanded its business into other luxury goods. However, this eventually led to financial difficulties, and in 2005 the Taittinger brand – including the Champagne house – was sold to the American owned Starwood Hotel Group. The sale was badly received by the Champagne industry, with many fearing the new owners – unfamiliar with the culture of Champagne – would put profit ahead of quality.

Just one year later, Claude’s nephew, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, who had always been opposed to the sale, negotiated a €660m deal with the Starwood Group, and the Taittinger family resumed ownership of the company.

In 2017, Taittinger planted its first vines in England, near a village in Kent, for its venture into English sparkling wine. The first bottle will be ready in 2023.

1/8/21 — 3 years ago

Paul Masson

9.1

Needs age or extended aeration but very promising — 7 months ago

Lyle Fass

Founder Fass Selections

9.8

This is an 11.5% Chardonnay from Baden by the area right on Lake Konstanz. Maybe 800 bottles. A stunning new discovery of a country that continues to blow me away in the Chardonnay department. Gotta be my discovery of the year.

Iodine. Smells like Meursault and is very lemony, this is like 1er Cru, terrific inner mouth, wow, this is so serious. Amazing linearity. Intense and so so good. Insane purity and acidity. This is so lean and so elegant. 11.5%. Just a freak show. The most new wave white Burg style I’ve ever had in Germany. Think Roulot/Brisset/Boudignon/Pillot/Ramonet style. — 2 years ago

roland benedetti

9.2

What a stunner.
Start round and sweet, friendly, red fruits Gamay in the place, progressively letting the Syrah play her partition. Spices and dark berries and herbs and complexity.

So beautiful! So pleasant to drink! — 3 years ago