FRENCH WINE

VINOUS 94-96 POINTS: "Bright yellow. Expansive, highly aromatic bouquet of orange, pear and flowers, with notes of talc and anise coming up with air. Pure and penetrating citrus and mineral flavors pack a serious punch and show a strong spicy quality on the back end. Finishes with resonating mineral and spice notes, an almost oily texture and outstanding persistence. I'd love to see this next to some high-end grand cru Burgundies. Emmanuel Reynaud told me that yields were off by over 70% in 2008 so this will be a rare bird."

JEB DUNNUCK 95 POINTS - "The first vintage made at the new winery, the 2008 Cos d’Estournel is drinking beautifully today, with terrific complexity as well as a silky, polished style on the palate. Made from 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot, and 2% Cabernet Franc and revealing copious amounts of crème de cassis and black cherry fruit intermixed with notes of toasted bread, spice, and cedar, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a silky, sexy texture, and sweet tannin. Count me in as a fan. This beauty can be drunk today or cellared for another 15-20 years."

WINE SPECTATOR 94 POINTS-"Very minerally on the nose, with brine and smoke accents leading to flavors of cassis, mandarin orange peel and dried white cherry on the buoyant, creamy mousse. Bright and harmonious, with a rich, lasting finish of toast, chopped hazelnut and spice. Disgorged May 2015. Drink now through 2028. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 100 cases imported."

Jacques Defrance is headquartered in Les Riceys a quaint village nestled amidst the rolling hills of the Cotes des Bar half way between Reims and Chablis. Here for over a century four generations of the Defrance family have acquired and cultivated some of the area's best situated plots all the while learning more and more how get the best quality from their terrior. This valued-priced vintage Champagne is 50% Chardonnay and 40% Pinot Noir with a dosage of 8grams/liter. Harmonious and creamy on the palate with pleasing lemon curd, vanilla and ginger snap flavors. It is cast in a crowd pleasing style with excellent balance and good length.

ROBERT PARKER 98 POINTS: "A candidate for the -wine of the vintage,- the 2008 should have been purchased before it began to soar in value because of the significance of the number 8 in the Chinese culture (denoting good luck). Representing 40% of the production, this blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 13% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc offers aromas of high quality unsmoked cigar tobacco, lead pencil shavings, creme de cassis, earth, cedar and asphalt. Full, rich and stunningly concentrated, I doubt it is inferior to the 2010, just more classic as well as slightly more forward and a degree weaker in alcoholic potency (12.5% versus 13.5%). The 2008 should be relatively drinkable in 6-10 years as it is already showing remarkable complexity and breed, and will last for 30-35 years...at the minimum."

The 2008 Gold Label Vintage Extra Brut is a 50/50 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Fresh, lean and intense, this is a very elegant, pure and refined classic with a lovely mineral expression; it has refreshing lemon flavors in the very good finish. This is made in a lean and complex style. Excellent, although it needs a few years of ageing. Disgorged in July 2015. Stephan Reinhardt - The Wine Advocate

Yipes! This is one of those classic, "Why is this killer wine still available?" situations. Perhap's it's the somber gray (yellow was already taken) label or the fact that Laurent-Perrier's uber popular brut rose steals all of the brand's thunder. Any who, if you are interested in adding to your stash (for very little cash) of top-rated Champagnes from the century's top Champagne vintage, this beauty is definitely for you. It's a 50/50 Chardonnay-Pinot Noir blend drawn exclusively from Grand Cru sites: Chouilly, Cramant, Avize and Le Mensil-sur-Oger for the Chardonnay and Ay, Verzy, Tours-sur-Marne and Bouzy for the Pinot Noir. 2008 started out with a typically cold winter followed by a damp spring. However, it is the month of September that often makes or breaks a Champagne vintage and so it was with 2008. Harvest started mid-month in cool, but dry conditions which produced a bounty of healthy Chardonnay and Pinot Noir berries which from the outset revealed outstanding aromatic intensity with keen acidity that augured well for an exceptional year.

WINE ENTHUSIAST 96 POINTS - "While still young, this Champagne has all the makings of greatness. Produced from grand cru vineyards, it already balances ripe white fruits with a firm structure that will age well. It's relatively dry and has plenty of acidity, which will also aid in the longevity." *Top Cellar Selection of 2019*

JAMES SUCKLING 95 POINTS - "This is a solid and very dense Champagne with a phenolic and rich texture. Layers of cooked apples and light lemon rind. Brioche and light pie-crust in the aftertaste. Fresh and relatively dry aftertaste."(07/19)

WINE ADVOCATE 93 POINTS - "The 2008 Brut Millésimé opens in the glass with lovely aromas of lemon oil, green apple, warm biscuits, iodine and mandarin. On the palate, the wine is medium to full-bodied, deep and seamless, with an elegantly layered core, a fine, pinpoint mousse and racy balancing acids, concluding with a long and incipiently biscuity finish. This is a classy vintage Champagne that will develop beautiful complexity in the cellar."

Though situated in the Montagne de Reims village of Ludes this small artisan house has developed a variety of outstanding Chardonnay sources in the Cote des Blancs including the Grand Cru villages of Cramant, Oger, and Mesnil-sur-Oger. This 2008 could be their best rendition to date.
JAMES SUCKLING 94 POINTS-"Lemon and grapefruit tightly cut into place with powerful acidity and lots of lemon citrus on the nose as well as grilled hazelnuts. The palate has impressively deep-set citrus flavors, and refreshing layers build with terrific depth, power and nutty warmth."

VINOUS 98 POINTS-"Taittinger’s 2008 Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne is simply breathtaking. I have tasted it many times over the years in various trial disgorgements and it has never been anything less than compelling. The final, finished wine captures all of that potential. Bright, focused and wonderfully deep, Comtes is a fabulous example of a vintage that expresses so much energy but with real fruit intensity, the signatures that distinguish it from other vintages (1996 comes to mind) that were similarly taut, but more austere in the early going. Although the 2008 impresses right out of the gate, it only really starts to open up with several hours of air. The 2008 Comtes represents the purest essence of the Côtes des Blancs in a great, historic vintage. Readers who can find the 2008 should not hesitate, as it is a truly brilliant epic Champagne that no one who loves the very best in Champagne will want to be without. (AG) 98+."(8/2020)

WINE ADVOCATE 98 POINTS-"Taittinger's 2008 Brut Blanc de Blancs Comtes de Champagne is being released this year, and it will be worth a special effort to track down. I wrote in August 2019 that this is the finest Comtes de Champagne since the brilliant 2002, and this tasting confirmed that. Offering up a deep and complex bouquet of citrus oil, crisp orchard fruit, warm brioche, crushed chalk, blanched almonds and smoke, it's full-bodied and incisive, with excellent concentration, racy acids and a long, searingly chalky finish. While this is already immensely impressive out of the gates, this 2008 is clearly built for the long haul, and three decades' longevity won't be a challenge."(9/2020)