Taittinger: 2018 Vins Clairs Tasting

Last month, we travelled to Taittinger’s shiny new winery on the outskirts of Reims to taste the 2018 vins clairs with new Chef de Cave Alexandre Ponnavoy, Brand Ambassador Jean-Pierre Redont and Taittinger’s UK Director Kevin McKee.

The key weather events for Ponnavoy last year were the “hot winter, a spring with lots of rain, and sun in July and August”, which he described as “perfect conditions for the vineyard.” A successful harvest for Taittinger produced wines with an average 10.6 degrees potential alcohol, an average pH of 3.1 and yields between 13-14,000 kg/ha in most areas.

Overall, Ponnavoy seemed pleased with the results. The Chardonnays – which are always the focus at Taittinger – have “good maturity and freshness.” However, while Taittinger have consistently ‘good wines’ across the board, Ponnavoy did note that there are fewer ‘outstanding wines’ this year.

“I think we will produce a Comtes in 2018,” he told us. “The quality of the wine is very nice, very interesting.” For Ponnavoy, the standout characteristic of the base wines in 2018 is the specificity of the terroir. As there is less water and more minerality in the wines, the soil is distinguishable, with each vineyard across each region displaying its true independent nature. “When you have a harvest of good quantity and good quality, you can feel the acidity and concentration in the wine,” he said.

2018 Vins Clairs

We began our vins clairs tasting with the Chardonnays, all from Grand Cru villages in the Côte des Blancs. The wines from Avize and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger will constitute the majority of the Comtes 2018 blend, while a small amount of Chouilly will be added for structure. “There is a very nice maturity in the Chardonnay… excellent wine for the vintage. I think it will be a good vintage for the top, top cuvée,” Ponnavoy commented.

All the Pinot Noirs we tasted were from Taittinger-owned vineyards in the Montagne de Reims. Despite all being farmed sustainably – they do not utilise copper and have been free of pesticides and herbicides for 11 years in order to preserve the acidity and add more flavour – they are not yet organically certified. “We are less focused on obtaining organic certification… we use these methods for the improved quality of the wines,” Ponnavoy explained.

Next, we tasted three red wines from the famous Grand Cru village of Ambonnay, Verzenay and Bouzy. Although purchased as vins clairs, the process is very much a collaboration, as Taittinger have recently changed their red wine making technique. Typically, the juice undergoes 4 days of cold maceration and 6-8 days of fermentation, in order to extract more tannins: “The rosé at Taittinger is gastronomic, not an apéritif, and therefore needs more colour, more fruit.”

Finished Champagne

We concluded our visit with a ‘futurotheque’ tasting of Comtes de Champagne and Comtes de Champagne Rosé. For the blancs, Comtes 2007, which was released last year, will likely transition to Comtes 2008 soon – a champagne we’ve long been waiting for and, although still very young, tastes better and better each time we try it.

Looking beyond 2008, Taittinger decided to skip 2009 – despite it being considered a strong vintage – as they believed the Chardonnay would mature too fast. However, despite not producing a Brut Vintage in 2011 due to the Pinot Noir not being good enough, they did produce a Comtes 2011 as the Chardonnays were quite impressive.

The big surprise for the blancs however was Comtes 2013. Widely dismissed as an okay vintage, notorious for its uneven ripening and summer hail, Taittinger have managed to produce a quite excellent prestige cuvée, which Ponnavoy likens to 1993: “The same generosity.” This is definitely one to watch in the future.

For the rosés, we can safely assume Comtes Rosé 2007, which has all the spicy, floral characteristics of the vintage, will hit the market later this year. Comtes Rosé 2008 seems to have developed a bit more since we last tasted it, with power and richness in abundance, and will no doubt be a prestige cuvée rosé for the long-term. Comtes 2009 and 2012 have bags of potential but need the requisite time on the lees to mature a bit further before release.