Taittinger

The current Taittinger identity dates to 1932, when Pierre Taittinger, a French politician and businessman, acquired Maison Forest-Fourneaux, a Champagne house founded in 1734 by Jacques Fourneaux. Pierre Taittinger had served in WWI in the Reims sector, where he encountered the Champagne wine trade and resolved to enter it. He renamed the company Taittinger and built it into one of Reims' major Maisons through the mid-twentieth century. The family has retained operational control through the subsequent generations, with Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger continuing the family's leadership role.

• Pierre Taittinger acquired Maison Forest-Fourneaux in 1932 and renamed the house
• Forest-Fourneaux original founding dates to 1734
• Pierre Taittinger encountered Champagne during WWI service in the Reims sector
• Family retained operational leadership through subsequent generations

Taittinger's Reims cellars are the Saint-Nicaise crayères, a network of medieval chalk caves dug from the fourth-century Roman period through the medieval era. The cellars hold a reserve library of millions of bottles aging on lees, with the natural chalk thermal mass providing constant temperature for extended autolysis. The Saint-Nicaise crayères, along with the Pommery, Ruinart, and Veuve Clicquot crayères, were inscribed as part of the UNESCO World Heritage 'Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars' designation in 2015. Visitors can tour portions of the Taittinger crayères year-round.

• Saint-Nicaise crayères dug from Roman through medieval periods
• Reserve library of millions of bottles aging on lees in chalk caves
• Natural chalk thermal mass provides constant cellar temperature
• Inscribed as part of UNESCO World Heritage designation in 2015

Comtes de Champagne, the Maison's prestige cuvée, was first released from the 1952 vintage and remains one of Champagne's most respected blanc de blancs. The cuvée is 100% Chardonnay sourced exclusively from Côte des Blancs Grand Cru villages (Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Oger, Oiry), with extended bottle aging on lees (typically 8-10 years) before release. The Comtes de Champagne Rosé, an even rarer vintage cuvée, blends Chardonnay with red wine from the Maison's Bouzy estate parcel. Both Comtes cuvées sit at the prestige peak of Champagne blanc de blancs and rosé categories.

• Comtes de Champagne first released from the 1952 vintage
• 100% Chardonnay sourced exclusively from Côte des Blancs Grand Cru villages
• Extended bottle aging on lees: typically 8-10 years before release
• Comtes de Champagne Rosé blends Chardonnay with red wine from Bouzy estate parcel

In 2005, the Taittinger family sold the company to Starwood Capital Group, an American hotel investor that had acquired the Société du Louvre hotel and beverage portfolio (which included Taittinger as a side asset). The sale to non-French ownership produced significant industry concern about long-term stewardship. Within a year, Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger organized a leveraged management buyout in 2006, repurchasing the Champagne house from Starwood (which retained the hotel assets). The recovery restored family ownership and was widely celebrated within Champagne as a model of corporate stewardship. The Taittinger family has retained ownership ever since.

• Sold to Starwood Capital Group in 2005 as part of Société du Louvre portfolio acquisition
• Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger organized leveraged management buyout in 2006
• Recovered Maison while Starwood retained the hotel assets
• Family ownership restored and continues today

Taittinger's house style is Chardonnay-led, distinguishing the Maison from Pinot-dominant competitors like Bollinger and Veuve Clicquot. Brut Réserve NV, the Maison's volume face, is roughly 40% Chardonnay (high for a major-Maison NV), with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier filling out the blend. The Chardonnay emphasis gives Taittinger NV a lifted, chalk-driven character that contrasts with the riper Pinot-led styles. Beyond Brut Réserve, the range includes Prestige Rosé NV, Brut Vintage, Folies de la Marquetterie (a single-vineyard from the Pierry estate), Nocturne (sec, off-dry), and the Comtes de Champagne tier. Taittinger's commercial position reflects this Chardonnay-led identity, with the Maison particularly visible in white-wine-friendly markets.