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. December 2022.

As usual, the 2012 Comtes de Champagne is a classic blend of the five Côte des Blancs grands crus Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Oger and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. This is as classic a recipe as it gets, and it works like a dream. Right upon launch now, it holds back plenty but also gives generously, promising a lot. It's rich and expressive on the nose, with gorgeous toast-lined fruit of the utmost purity. Comtes de Champagne's hallmark toasty layers are already there and increasing. The palate is intense and structured, coming with fine nervosity and tension. Refined, linear and long. This is sheer perfection already, but it's greatly ageworthy. Despite the small yields of the year, an average good volume of Comtes was produced. August 2022.

From the Grand Crus of Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger, and Oger, the 2012 Champagne Blanc De Blancs Comtes De Champagne comes back swinging after last year's release and assumes a more noble and layered profile. Displaying a bright golden yellow hue, it has fantastic aromatic complexity, with wonderful custardy and classic aromas of lemon curd, crème brûlée, shortbread, and honeysuckle. The nose is hard to resist, and on the palate, it’s full-bodied, with a refined and pillowy mousse and a delicate warmth on the finish. It hits a lot of the right marks in this vintage, offering plenty of purity and balance, and will certainly provide a very wide drinking window for enjoyment. It’s just such a pleasurable wine, 2012 marks an exceptional return for this cuvée, which will have another 2-3 decades of life ahead.

The 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. May 2022.

The 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.

From the very first whiff, this expresses energy, depth and complexity. Aeration reinforces this impression, while also revealing scents of orchard fruit, like apricot, but also exotic fruit, as well as hazelnut and delicate autolytic notes - pastry in particular. On the palate, it is rich and full-bodied, with satisfying sapidity on the long finish. Five to eight years of further cellaring would be ideal, and even more for aficionados of Champagne with marked bottle maturity.

A big lift in quality from the slightly lean 2011. Simply a classic and deliciously original Comtes. Lots of beauty right from the start, but store for five years yourself in your own cellar and you will be greeted by an even greater wealth of mint chocolate, coconut, honey, butterscotch and lime essence. August 2023.

Smoky nose. Lemony and youthful but not too sweet. Admirable undertow and still with lots to give. Tight with a lacy texture and great persistence. A wine I'd love to follow over the years. (JR)