Winemaker Notes
Crystal clear, with a beautiful golden shimmer through colours of straw yellow and reflections of gold; the bead is fine, delicate and lively. The vintage captivates a blend of ripe citrus fruit flavors with pastry notes. The nose is fresh, smooth, and reveals a natural expression of radiant flavors. On the palate, the wine's effervescence unfurls into an invigorating sensation. It tightens up on the finish to leave a lingering taste imbued with ginger and liquorice. Possessing a natural delicacy, this Comtes de Champagne 2013 extends its energy with dynamism and a striking purity of aromas
Perfect for a special celebration, this champagne is the ideal match for a seafood, shellfish or fish entrée.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Fantastic complexity here with aromas of toast, biscuit, lemon, almond, chalk and some fennel. It's long, sleek and mineral, with tight, very fine bubbles and so much tension and precision. Very long and chalky finish. Disgorged end of 2023. Drink or hold.
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Wine Enthusiast
This beautiful Chardonnay from five top Grand Cru vineyards is textured with fruit that is still impressively perfumed. Its concentration has allowed it to remain perennially young. Although there are hints of toastiness, the Champagne has many more years of potential.
Cellar Selection -
Jasper Morris
After the relatively easygoing 2012 comes the more serious 2013 vintage. A long growing season with a late harvest has marked the wine with intense acids. The aromas are also cool and intense: lemony fruit on the palate is fragranced with just a hint of coffee beans. As the wine warms in the glass, herbaceous nuances emerge (and a dusting of almonds for good measure). Full of nervy energy from start to finish, the mid-palate interjects a ripe juiciness, hinting at the oft-ignored ripeness of this vintage. The acidity and extended lees aging have imparted a delicate salinity on the long, complex finish. Phenominally phenolic! This precise and fresh rendition of Comtes de Champagne may threaten to topple 2008 from its throne in the decades ahead.
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Decanter
Cool and a little inscrutable on release, but the composed and expected clarity of flavour is all there: green mandarin, dried apple, white peach and croissant dough, sitting tightly wrapped with a touch of iodine and subtle char. A beautifully serene texture and gliding mousse deliver length, detail and quiet intensity. Patience is required for the initial sweet citrus to subside into something more complex, but when it does this shows signs of being a classic. 100% Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs grand cru villages, with 5% oak fermentation.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne's bouquet is compellingly fresh and minty, revealing aromas of white fruit—notably pear and apple—marzipan and sweet spices, as well as a light touch of citrus mingled with classy autolytic notes. On the palate, this is a structured, tensile and ethereal Champagne with high acidity—a sign of a classic vintage—animated by a mousse of striking finesse and delicacy. Although already enjoyable, it should develop well for several decades.
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Wine Spectator
The Marilyn Monroe of Champagne, with voluptuous notes of lemon meringue, poached apricot, black cherry, brioche and candied ginger trimmed nicely by sleek, mouthwatering acidity. A minerally underpinning of smoke and oyster shell pushes through to drive the finish. It's hard to stop sipping this bright and harmonious bubbly. Drink now through 2038
Representing the topmost expression of a Champagne house, a vintage Champagne is one made from the produce of a single, superior harvest year. Vintage Champagnes account for a mere 5% of total Champagne production and are produced about three times in a decade. Champagne is typically made as a blend of multiple years in order to preserve the house style; these will have non-vintage, or simply, NV on the label. The term, "vintage," as it applies to all wine, simply means a single harvest year.
Associated with luxury, celebration, and romance, the region, Champagne, is home to the world’s most prized sparkling wine. In order to bear the label, ‘Champagne’, a sparkling wine must originate from this northeastern region of France—called Champagne—and adhere to strict quality standards. Made up of the three towns Reims, Épernay, and Aÿ, it was here that the traditional method of sparkling wine production was both invented and perfected, birthing a winemaking technique as well as a flavor profile that is now emulated worldwide.
Well-drained, limestone and chalky soil defines much of the region, which lend a mineral component to its wines. Champagne’s cold, continental climate promotes ample acidity in its grapes but weather differences from year to year can create significant variation between vintages. While vintage Champagnes are produced in exceptional years, non-vintage cuvées are produced annually from a blend of several years in order to produce Champagnes that maintain a consistent house style.
With nearly negligible exceptions, . These can be blended together or bottled as individual varietal Champagnes, depending on the final style of wine desired. Chardonnay, the only white variety, contributes freshness, elegance, lively acidity and notes of citrus, orchard fruit and white flowers. Pinot Noir and its relative Pinot Meunier, provide the backbone to many blends, adding structure, body and supple red fruit flavors. Wines with a large proportion of Pinot Meunier will be ready to drink earlier, while Pinot Noir contributes to longevity. Whether it is white or rosé, most Champagne is made from a blend of red and white grapes—and uniquely, rosé is often produce by blending together red and white wine. A Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay will be labeled as ‘blanc de blancs,’ while ones comprised of only red grapes are called ‘blanc de noirs.’