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 Comtes de Champagne is a prestige cuvée Blanc de Blancs made entirely from Chardonnay grapes sourced from the best Grand Cru vineyards in the prestigious Côte des Blancs region. It is only produced when the harvest is of exceptional quality worthy of a vintage year. Winemaking methods involve strictly using just the first press juice and ageing 5% of the wines for four months in new oak barrels - a third of which are renewed every year - to enhance the intrinsic qualities and complexities of the final blend. Presented in 18th century antique style bottles, this hand-crafted champagne is aged eighteen metres underground in the UNESCO status Saint-Nicaise cellars in Reims for a minimum of eight years before being released.

Weather: The 2011 vintage was a continental, sunny year with a real winter that was very cold and dry followed by a glorious sun-filled summer and almost no rain in August and September. The harvest was incomparable in terms of quality and produced consistent, fresh and crunchy grapes.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand Cru | Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger
Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Lees Ageing: 9 years
Disgorged: April 2021
Dosage: 9 g/l
Drink: Now to 2030+

Tasting Note: For a recently disgorged vintage of Comtes the aromatics are surprisingly generous, lots of bright rich lemon, ripe apple and tropical notes like pineapple and yellow plum. The fruit grows more on the palate, with additions of spice, hints of creamy custard and ten years lees ageing has filled out the mid palate with a chalky richness and mineral twist. It finishes elegant and light with a twist of saline. This doesn’t have the density of 2008, though it shows Chardonnay was indeed very good in 2011 and it reminds me of the excellent Comtes 2007. 18/20 Nick Baker, September 2021, Founder TFB.