Taittinger Brut Champagne Prélude Grands Crus NV

96 points Anne Krebiehl, MW (Decanter): "The nose is shy and subtle, though notions of red apple, peppery rye crumb, stone and lemon emerge with more air. Tightly coiled, the palate suggests spicy riches with its insinuations of white pepper and tangerine peel. A lovely interplay of Pinot richness and Chardonnay slinkiness, showing depth, svelteness and elegance. It justs needs air to breathe. Gorgeous. Drinking Window: 2020-2030. (Oct 2020)"

95 points Tyson Stelzer (The Champagne Guide): "(50% chardonnay from Avize, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger and a little Chouilly; 50% pinot noir, half from Mailly-Champagne and half from Ambonnay, Verzenay and Verzy; 100% single vintage, though not communicated; aged  3.5 years on lees; 9g/L dosage; cork). Taittinger selects its grand cru parcels for Prélude to show the characters of their crus, rather than the mood of the vintage, looking for elegance, finesse, delicacy and structure, reserving those with more power for its Comtes de Champagne Rosé. ‘This is purposely a cuvée of finesse and subtlety,’ says Damien Le Sueur. It is always entirely from a single year, though disappointingly its vintage is never declared, ‘as we don’t aim to show the vintage effect’. Le Sueur describes the vision as the opposite to Bollinger (who contrast warm south-facing pinot with cool, north-facing chardonnay). ‘We are looking for a fresh, easy-drinking style, so we source from the cooler pinot crus of Ambonnay, Verzenay, Verzy and, most of all, Mailly-Champagne, the signature of the structure of the wine,’ he says. Taittinger is privileged to large holdings in Mailly-Champagne. ‘We are big fans of this cooler village, and we love its structure and freshness – a pinot of chardonnay freshness yet pinot structure.’ True to its aspirations, 2014 Prélude is a cuvée of tension, focus and energy, with lifted struck-flint and grilled-toast reduction over a core of lemon, crunchy red apple and grapefruit freshness. The pure chalk of its grand cru sites defines a style of frothing salt minerality of prominent, lingering texture. Age has built subtle Parisian pâtisserie character, evoking freshly baked baguettes and brioche. It delivers presence and character on the front, and carries a long and focused finish of mineral tension and character. Classy, terroir-infused, and precise. (2020-2021)"

94 points Bettanne & Desseauve (2022).

94 points Peter Moser (Falstaff): "Light golden yellow, silver reflections; fine, persistent mousse. White flowers on the nose followed by fresh mango, white apple, a hint of blossom honey, brioche in the background. Complex, fine fruit expression, delicate pear, balanced, well-integrated, vivid acid structure, elegant and juicy. A multi-faceted food wine, shows class and length, lively finish. (11/19/20)"

93+ points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "Prélude is one of my absolute favorite bottlings produced at Champagne Taittinger and it has always struck me as marketing madness for the maison not to include at least some basic technical details on the back label of this wine, such as base year, date of disgorgement and dosage. This is a connoisseurs’ Champagne and such detail would be extremely useful, particularly since this is one of the most ageworthy wines in Taittinger’s portfolio and knowing its base year would be invaluable for those of us who cellar the wine. In any case, the wine is composed from a fifty-fifty blend of chardonnay and pinot noir, all sourced from grand cru vineyards. The wine only utilizes the first pressing, or cuvée (as is the case for Comtes de Champagne) and is aged five years sur latte prior to disgorgement. The current release is a stunning young wine, offering up a precise and complex bouquet of pear, apple, almond, brioche, a gorgeous base of chalky minerality, white flowers and plenty of upper register smokiness. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a rock solid core of fruit, a lovely girdle of acidity, excellent balance and grip, refined mousse and a very long, poised and very promising finish. This is certainly drinking nicely out of the blocks, but it is still a relatively young wine and truly deserves at least five or six years in the cellar to allow its next layer of complexity to emerge and the wine to fully blossom on the palate. 2023-2055. (May/Jun 2023)"

93 points William Kelley (Wine Advocate): "The latest release of Taittinger's NV Brut Prélude Grands Crus is showing nicely, offering up aromas of pear, crisp stone fruit, warm biscuits and marzipan. Medium to full-bodied, fleshy and precise, with tangy acids and fine depth at the core, this is still a little reserved after what I suspect is quite a recent disgorgement, and it will merit a little patience. Drink: 2022-2037. (Sep 2021)"

93 points James Suckling: "This has attractive notes of hazelnuts, pastries, honey, figs and apple tart. Lots of flavor with a medium body and fine bubbles. Deliciously layered. I like the praline and honeycomb notes. 50% chardonnay and 50% pinot noir from Grand Cru vineyards, with at least 5 years on the lees. Drink now. (9/8/22)"