Originally known as Forest-Fourneaux with history dating back to 1734 and in 1932 Pierre Taittinger bought the House and the Taittinger label was born. A century of incredible growth saw Taittinger become one of the biggest producers and today is one of the last big independent, family-owned Houses. Pierre-Emmanuel retired in 2019 and was succeeded as President by his daughter Vitalie. They own 288-hectares of vineyards and the Taittinger style is the high percentage of Chardonnay. In 2017 Taittinger received two environmental accreditations: the ‘Viticulture Durable en Champagne’ (Sustainable vine-growing in Champagne) and the Haute Valeur Environnementale (HVE – High environmental sustainability.)

Taittinger produce a vintage champagne only when the harvest has been of exceptional quality. Their Brut Vintage is always a blend of juice exclusively from the first pressing of the grapes and is aged for four years in the cellars, allowing the aromas to mature slowly and the length and complexity of the wine to develop. It consists of Chardonnay from Grand Crus of the Côte des Blancs and Pinot Noir from Grand Crus of the Montagne de Reims and the Vallée de la Marne.

Weather: The year 2013 stands out for a winter where temperatures fell below the ten-year average with periods of snow and freezing. Spring persisted with cool temperatures and was marked by heavy rainfall. Flowering began late in in July. An extremely sunny and warm summer helped the vines to offset these earlier delays. Harvest was late with Chardonnay picking beginning on October 1st. Maturity at harvest was very good, the Chardonnays combined notes of white flowers with citrus and hints of tropical fruits from the later September sunshine. They were powerful, structured and well-rounded with excellent length. The Pinots Noir grapes had good complexity with floral aromas of some yellow as well as the typical red fruit characters.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand & Premier Cru | Pinot Noir: Montagne de Reims, Vallée de la Marne | Chardonnay: Côte des Blancs
Grape Varieties: 50% Pinot Noir, 50% Chardonnay
Ageing: 6 years on the lees
Disgorged: 2019
Dosage: 9 g/l
Drink: Now to 2030+

Tasting Note: There is bundles of fruit with grapefruit, pear and apple in abundance. The palate is crisp and fresh with those citrus notes and you start to see the tropical fruit like pineapple from the Chardonnay shining through with good lees character adding to the texture on the palate. Bright and clean on the finish leaving you ready for a second sip.