Taittinger Champagne House Guide

Winery Overview

One of the great and established names in the Champagne region, Taittinger, traces its origins to 1734, when Jacques Fourneaux founded the Forest-Fourneaux Champagne business; the Taittinger family’s modern chapter began in 1932. They produce around 5.7–6 million bottles of the always reliable and delicious Champagne cuvée Brut Réserve annually. That sets the scene for their exquisite vintage wines and exceptional Blancs de Blancs prestige cuvée Comtes de Champagne, matched by an equally exquisite and very rare rosé. Taittinger also created Domaine Carneros in Napa Valley and Domaine Evremond in Kent, UK. Its historic Saint-Nicaise site lies in Reims, where visitors can explore the maison’s chalk cellars and Champagne heritage.

In 2005, Taittinger was sold to Starwood Capital, a move that caused considerable unease in Champagne, where family ownership and regional identity remain central to the prestige of the grandes marques. In 2006, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger led a family-backed buyback with the support of Crédit Agricole, restoring the maison to family control after its brief period under outside ownership.

Taittinger is admired for a Chardonnay-led house style that emphasizes freshness, finesse, and length rather than sheer power. Its prestige cuvée, Comtes de Champagne, remains one of the maison’s defining wines. For Cellar Tours private guests, Taittinger can work well as part of a polished Reims-based Champagne itinerary, especially when balanced with smaller grower estates, fine dining, and visits to historic chalk cellars.

Further Reading

Author

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James Lawrence

With a passion for food & drink that verges on the obsessive, wine writer James Lawrence has traveled the world in search of the perfect tipple. To date, nothing has surpassed the 1952 R. López de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rioja Reserva, tasted in the cobweb-filled cellars with owner María José. Meanwhile, James has been writing for a wide variety of publications for over 12 years, including Telegraph, Decanter, Harpers, The Drinks Business, and Wine Business International. He lives in South Wales and returns to his former university city, Bilbao, as much as possible.

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