Taittinger Champagne Prelude Grand Cru

Taittinger Champagne Prelude Grand Cru

Taittinger Champagne Prelude Grand Cru Made from only Grand Cru vineyards, this ripe, full and wonderfully textured wine from France is rich and complex. It brings out tangy orange and lemon zest, a tightly mineral texture, fragrant fruit and acidity. Dense and concentrated, the wine would benefit from some bottle age to bring out all its flavors.

93 Robert Parker: The NV Brut Prélude Grands Crus has a very clear, complex and fresh yet intense bouquet, currently with more Pinot and walnut/macadamia flavors rather than Chardonnay flavors. Almond biscuits and fine brioche aromas come through only on the second nose. Bottled in 2012, this should be based on the 2011 vintage. It is a full-bodied, fine and elegant but also very complex and persistent Prélude that was sourced in only grand cru vineyards. Disgorged in October 2016 (dosage: nine grams per liter), tasted in November 2017.

92 Allen Meadows: There is just a hint of reduction present that shaves the top notes off of the otherwise yeasty green apple and subtle floral aromas. There is fine complexity to the equally yeasty flavors where the supporting effervescence is not particularly refined though it’s by no means rustic either, all wrapped in a lingering and sappy finish. I suppose if I’m being really nitpicky this lacks just a touch of freshness and verve even though it’s clear that the idea here is to deliver a wine with real depth. I would be the first to acknowledge that it is very difficult to deliver depth with freshness because of the very nature of developing the complexity in the first place. Still, it can be done and this, while certainly delicious and attractive, lacks that little extra dimension that separates the very best cuvées from the ‘merely’ excellent.