The name Taittinger carries weight, not only in Champagne, but also in France; after all, it has a presence, for example, during the succession of mayors of the capital Paris.
The famous Champagne house was not founded under the name Taittinger, but under Fourneaux-Forest in 1734, at a time when Champagne was still more or less in its infancy. In 1915, Pierre-Charles Taittinger, a native of Lorraine, came to Reims as an officer and was so taken with the wine and the landscape that he returned 16 years later. He acquired the Fourneaux-Forest Champagne house and a first factory building in Reims. This was the birth of Champagne Taittinger.
In 1942, the company finally moved into its grand headquarters with some spectacular chalk cellars. However, the old building was memorialized in 1952 with the 1st release of the prestige cuvée "Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut", because the house was also the seat of the Comtes de Champagne.
With 288 hectares of vineyards, Taittinger is now the third largest winery in Champagne, and this makes the house largely independent of grape suppliers. This in turn is reflected in the quality. And also that the vineyards are largely farmed with horses out of respect for nature.
Chardonnay predominates in the grape variety list and also supplies the majority of the cuvées. Speed and rapid sales are not an issue at the House of Taittinger. Where others often bring their Champagnes to market after just 18 months, even the "Brut Réserve" without vintage is allowed three to four years to mature towards its destination.
Of course, this also applies to the cuvées "Nocturne" (white and rosé), the "Prélude" or the cuvée "Les Folies de la Marquetterie". But the flagship of the house is and remains the "Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut", which is one of the best, most famous and most iconic Champagnes.
