Finally Available: Invest In 2008 Comtes de Champagne From Taittinger

Among The Oldest In Champagne

Taittinger was founded in 1734 by Jaques Fourneaux, making it one of the absolute oldest Champagne houses. Although the long history and, among other things, the collaboration with the Benedictine monks, is a cornerstone at Taittinger, so is the status as a family business, although this only became relevant in 1932, when Pierre Taittinger bought the house.

The family ran the business themselves until, to the great dismay of the Champagne industry, they accepted the offer of a private American investment fund and allowed themselves to be bought out. Tradition and culture are the cornerstones of Champagne and it was feared that a company with no connection to culture and heritage would undermine the market and in particular damage the recognised and respected Taittinger. Therefore, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, together with the French bank Crédit Agricole, which many may know from cycling, bought back the Taittinger house less than a year after the sale. This secured the family's control of the house, making Taittinger one of the few great Champagne houses still owned by the family. The heritage, tradition and reputation have been maintained, and Taittinger has seriously developed into a renowned estate, with the prestigious cuvée, Comtes de Champagne, being particularly interesting - as we are dealing with one of the most underrated Champagnes in Champagne.

Underestimated: Comtes Is At The Top Of Its League

Comtes de Champagne is in some ways reminiscent of a "forgotten" jewel. However, it has not been completely forgotten, which became clear when the 2008 vintage was released to enormous interest in the 3rd quarter of 2020. Despite Corona restrictions and closed restaurants, the 2008 Comtes de Champagne appeared on several of Liv-ex's lists in the autumn and winter - among others, as the most traded wine by value.

Nevertheless, Comtes de Champagne has some characteristics that make it seem undervalued.

When compared in quality to some of the greatest and most important premium Champagnes, Comtes de Champagne appears extremely attractive. If you compare Richard Juhlin's scores for Cristal, Dom Pérignon, Krug Vintage and Comtes de Champagne across all vintages from 1990 to 2008 *, Comtes de Champagne simply receives more points than Dom Pérignon and Cristal. This underlines the generally high level of Comtes de Champagnes:

Both the 2008 Cristal and the Comtes scored 97 points, while the Dom Pérignon scored 98. And while the Comtes and the Dom Pérignon cost about the same, a 2008 Cristal is much more expensive, costing about €175-180.

However, it is important to know that only about 150,000-300,000 bottles of Comtes de Champagne are produced, which means that Comtes de Champagne is still one of the most exclusive prestige cuvées among the mastodon productions of millions of bottles. And at the same time, Comtes outperforms the big premium brands in quality.

* Some vintages are not to be found among the various wines, including the 2008 Krug Vintage, which has not yet been released.

2008 Comtes de Champagne: The Greatest Ever

The 2008 vintage is simply something special, perhaps the greatest ever in Champagne. Even for those houses that underperformed compared to the vintage, their Champagne still turned out fantastic. However, there is no underperformance when it comes to the 2008 Comtes de Champagne. The four main critics all awarded very high points, with the 97 points of Champagne guru Richard Juhlin being particularly noteworthy, awarding the lowest score of the four. Wine Advocate and Vinous reward the champagne with 98 and 98+ points respectively, while James Suckling awards 99 points.

Besides the great points, it is also worth mentioning that neither Wine Advocate, Vinous nor James Suckling have ever given a Comtes de Champagne higher points than the 2008 vintage.

Richard Juhlin, who is particularly interesting when it comes to Champagne, is also enthusiastic, although the 97 points is the lowest score among the four. Richard Juhlin has only awarded 97 points five times since the first vintage of Comtes de Champagne ^* and only once was this surpassed - namely with the legendary 1979 vintage, which received 99 points.

This makes it clear that the 2008 Comtes de Champagne is something very special and is one of the absolute greatest in the Taittinger history - perhaps even the greatest. At the same time, this is also pr. definition the best Comtes de Champagne you can get today, in more than just single bottles.

* First year: 1952. Richard Juhlin awarded 97 points to 1952, 1961, 1969, 1996 and 2008.

You Need To Be Aware Of This When Investing In New Top Vintages From Champagne

Wine is a long-term investment and, when you look at the bigger picture, it stands out for its solid returns. Wine is not as volatile as you know from the ups and downs on the stock market, but there is still something about new vintages from Champagne that you should be aware of.

When a new top vintage of a great Champagne comes out, it is often on the basis of overwhelming expectations and even greater hype. This can result in a battle for the quantities then available, when all those who desperately want to be among the first or those who dare not wait in fear of not getting anything have to act. This scenario can lead to a rapid price increase. In some cases, the new price will stay up and becomes the market price. In other cases, large distributors or wine merchants, for example, have bought too much in the beginning and are forced to lower the price again in the time after release; fx if the Champagne House released additional quantities in the course of the initial release.

In short, buying top Champagne in the run-up to release can be a spooky affair, with the price falling as easily as it can rise. So it is often a matter of consideration, how long you dare to wait until you think prices have found their level. At the same time, do not wait too long and risk not getting the quantities you want.

At RareWine Invest we have armed ourselves with the good old "waiting game" and kept a watchful eye on the 2008 Comtes de Champagne deal. We have now reached a point where we do not dare to wait any longer, as the uncertainty about sourcing volumes at an attractive price is becoming too great. However, there is still the risk of short-term price fluctuations.

That being said, this is the perfect product and if you can see through potential fluctuations in the price on a short term basis, then you have secured an investment in a prestige cuvée where the potential in the long run is enormous.

Taitinger's Mature Top Vintages Are Crown Jewels

Who wouldn't want to enjoy a 1988 Comtes de Champagne today? Or perhaps "only" a 1996? You can do it, but you will also be have to pay for it.

According to wine-searcher.com, a 1996 Comtes de Champagne costs from €310 per bottle today, a more realistic level is estimated at around €350. Should it be the 1988, with the exception of two single bottles at € 420 per bottle, the 1988 costs in the range of € 500 per bottle

The 2008 vintage has the potential to be even more legendary than these two top vintages and with the general increase in interest in good Champagne, all indications are that this will be even more sought after than the previous top vintages.

RareWine Invest's Opinion

If you want to secure an investment in 2008 Comtes de Champagne at an attractive price, then now is the time. How the supply and price will develop over the next few years is unknown, so waiting may lead to higher prices or a lack of opportunity to invest in attractive quantities.

Comtes de Champagne seems to be generally underestimated and you get Champagne of superior quality at a very attractive price. At the same time, both Taittinger and Comtes de Champagne are serious brands that seem to be moving more and more into the spotlight.

Comtes de Champagne performs generally better than two of Champagne's most prestigious cuvées, Cristal and Dom Pérignon, and has a level of excellence that is otherwise only found in much more expensive Champagnes.

The 2008 vintage is in itself the best rated Comtes de Champagne ever by Wine Advocate, Vinous and James Suckling. From Richard Juhlin's perspective, the 2008 vintage matches the 1996 and 1969 and is only surpassed by the 1979 vintage, which really paints a picture of a great future.

Today, the mature vintages of Comtes de Champagne are both expensive and quite difficult to obtain. The 2008 vintage is at least as legendary and will be a treasure in the future. The 2008 Comtes de Champagne is one of the last great 2008s and we recommend investing in it while it is available.