In the early 1950s, whilst on his first trip to the United States to promote Taittinger champagne, Claude Taittinger met Rudy Kopf, who would later become their partner for the distribution of Taittinger champagne on the other side of the Atlantic. After getting to know each other better, Kopf asked Claude the following question: “In tomorrow’s world, there will only be space for big corporations and artists. Which side will you choose for Taittinger champagne?”. Instinctively, Claude Taittinger replied: “The artists!”; thus, setting out the direction in which he would take Champagne Taittinger when he took over as President 10 years later.

Having forged strong links with several artists, Claude Taittinger created the Taittinger Collection in 1983. He received support from some of the greatest names in contemporary art to showcase the best vintage Grands Crus produced by the Champagne House. The bottle becomes both the canvas and the inspiration for a creation, signed by a distinguished artist. The Hungarian artist Victor Vasarely was the first artist to produce work for this unique art gallery, which to date includes a long line of designs by artists such as André Masson, Roy Lichtenstein, Imaï, Rauschenberg and Amadou Sow.

Artist: Vieira da Silva was born in Lisbon in 1908 and died in Paris in 1992. She divided her life between the cultural centres of both Portugal and France. She set up home very early on in Paris with her husband, the Hungarian painter Szenes, and she successfully enrolled in the famous Paris (ART?) school. She was captivated by a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and used it as inspiration for her understanding of space as shown in the design of the stage and the depiction of the relationship between reality and make-believe. Vieira da Silva created happy paintings. The rhythm of the lines and colours have an intense musicality and mysterious feel. Imagination is not so much a construction of the mind, but a way of creating it. This paradoxical association runs through all of Vieira da Silva’s work, caught between effusion and restraint, meticulousness and chaos, and darkness and light.

Art: For her design for the Taittinger Collection, she had fun placing the precious bottle for a split second behind one of those remarkable stained glass windows which she alone could imagine. The spots of colour which landed on it remain fixed there for ever! However, they don’t just stay there in a static manner, they in fact rise in a stream of bubbles, thanks to da Silva’s conviction in her artwork.

Vintage: The bottle contains a Brut Millésimé 1983, made from 40 % Chardonnay from the Grands Crus of the Côte des Blancs region, and from 60 % Pinot Noir from the Grands Crus of the Montagne de Reims.

Weather: After having celebrated the ‘year of the century’ in 1982, who could have anticipated that it would happen again as early as the year after? The vines enjoyed exceptional weather throughout the season, which resulted in a huge harvest of superb quality.

Due to the limited nature of these bottles, they are becoming increasingly difficult to source - particularly the original vintages from the 1980s. Full collections are especially rare.

Read more about the full collection here