Champagne Taittinger 

Pierre Taittinger arrived in Champagne during World War I as an injured officer, convalescing in the Château de la Marquetterie, a French command post just outside Épernay, about 150 km east of Paris. Smitten by the building and the landscape, he vowed to return to buy it should he ever have the means. When the Great Depression of the 1930s swept through Europe, the fortunes of the champagne house Forest-Fourneaux which owned the chateau, diminished considerably, and Pierre stepped in and relaunched the business under the Taittinger name.
Two decades later, in the 1950s, Taittinger joined the Syndicat des Grandes Marques. Back then, Taittinger was selling a renowned single vineyard wine labelled Folies de la Marquetterie, and rest, as they say, is history.
Taittinger's headquarters is in Reims, a half-hour from the chateau, and in a massive 13th-century mansion on the Rue de Tambour. It sits above a network of chalk caves, originally dug out by Romans, quarrying the contents for building, dating back to the 4th century. It is also the former home of Count Theobald IV, who reigned over Champagne from 1222. Theobald was rumoured to have brought the chardonnay grape to the region from Cyprus, although UC Davis researchers have long since proven this to be false. True or not, Taittinger’s best wine is named Comtes de Champagne in Theobald’s honour, and the wine is 100 percent chardonnay.
The company thrived under Francois Taittinger, who added the family name to the labels and and through a series of strategic moves, including creating the Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs, established the style of the house. Francois died in a car accident and his younger brother Claude took over until financial woes beset Taittinger at the turn of the century. That led to a controversial sale in July 2005 to the American-owned Starwood Hotel Group, but the deal was shortlived. Thanks to Claude’s nephew Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, industry friends and Credit Agricole, the family regained control of the business less than a year later.
All of which brings us to the present.
When we met with Vitalie Taittinger in Reims, it was days before she would be confirmed the new president, taking over for her father, Pierre-Emmanuel. Brother Clovis is the General Manager and the Director of Marketing and Sales worldwide, and together, they ensure that Taittinger will remain a family business for another generation.
With 288 hectares of vines, the Taittinger family is amongst the largest vineyard owners in Champagne. The vineyard is planted to 37% chardonnay, 48% pinot noir, and 15% pinot meunier distributed equally across 37 highly-rated vineyards, and on par with the best in the region. As early as 1945, François Taittinger relied on chardonnay to launch a long line of elegant sparkling wines full of finesse and precision that would come to define Taittinger’s signature house style.
Follow us as we tour the property and the cellars of Taittinger and record the first interview of President Vitalie Taittinger as she expounds on the past, the present, and the future at Champagne Taittinger, where more than anything, the wines are about emotion.
Tasting notes: gismondionwine...
Visit our website for more stories about wine, the people who make them and where they are made, plus, access 30,000+ tasting notes, which we update daily: gismondionwine...
Join our free, monthly newsletter: gismondionwine...
Follow us on social media:
Instagram: @Gismondionwine and @anthony.gismondi
Facebook: /Gismondionwine and /AnthonyGismondi
Twitter: @Gismondionwine and @TheSpitter