Taittinger Comtes de Champagne 2014

Pristine and tensile, with lemon oil, white peach and wet chalk setting the tone from the first sip. Fine, persistent bubbles carry the wine's architecture gracefully — linear and coiled, yet with a surprising swell of richness through the mid-palate that keeps it from feeling austere. An oyster-shell note trails through the finish, a quiet nod to the chalk soils beneath the Côte des Blancs. Comparisons to the 2008 are inevitable, and not unwarranted — this has that same taut discipline, just a touch more flesh. Drink now through 2035.