Taittinger Champagne...

The origins of Champagne Taittinger date back to the original house founded in 1734 by Jacques Fourneaux. However its links to the Taittinger family started in 1931 when it was purchased by the founder of today's company, Pierre Taittinger.

Around 1912 Pierre and one of his brothers-in-law ran a Champagne distribution and export business. As a young cavalry officer in the First World War he spent much time in the Champagne area where he was stationed at Château de la Marquetterie in Pierry, near Epernay, so named because of the chequered appearance of the vineyards from planting white Chardonnay grapes alongside black Pinot Grapes. He instantly fell in love with the property along with its fine vineyards and after the war in 1932, purchased it a year after he had bought the Fourneaux Company.

Today it is still owned and managed by the Taittinger family. Since 1960 the house has been headed by Pierre's son, Claude Taittinger, who is also the winemaker.

The Taittinger headquarters are in Reims, situated above magnificent 4th Century Roman cellars which at one time belonged to the Benedictine monks of the abbey of St Nicaise. Its miles of tunnels and cellars are perfect for the slow but necessary ageing process involved in making this great Champagne .

Brut Réserve

Bin No

HATCH-001

Size

6 x 75cl

Price

£163.92

COMPOSITION: Taittinger Brut Réserve is a blend of Chardonnay wines (40%) and Pinot wines (60%) from 40 different vineyards and matured to perfection. Such a high proportion of Chardonnay is seldom found among the great champagnes.

TASTING: The colour is brilliant, golden straw yellow. The bubbles are fine. The mousse is both discreet and persistent.

The nose, very expressive and open, is both fruity and bready. It exudes aromas of peach, white flowers (may blossom, acacia) and vanilla pod.

On the palate, this lively fresh wine is at once in harmony. This is a delicate wine with flavours of fresh fruit and honey.

In all a wine blessed with a well-developed aromatic potential. It is aged for three to four years in the cellars where it achieves perfect maturity.

DRINKING SUGGESTIONS: It can be drunk as an aperitif or with food, preferably with an evening meal.

It is a perfect accompaniment to white meat (lamb with chanterelles), crayfish or mushroom quiche.

A wine of great charm, combining the power of Body and the intelligence of Spirit.

Prestige Rosé

Bin No

HATCH-030

Size

6 x 75cl

Price

£191.76

COMPOSITION: A blend of various Champagne wines from several harvests. Approximately 12% to 15% of red wine are added before bottling to give this wine its delightful pink hue.

TASTING: The colour, brilliant pink, is shimmering and intense. The bubbles are fine and the mousse persistent.

The nose, satisfyingly intense, is both fresh and young. It gives off aromas of red fruit (freshly crushed wild raspberry, cherry and blackcurrant).

On the palate, this is a velvety wine of fine balance, and body - a subtle wine with flavours of fresh fruit.

In all, a very pleasing wine of balance and youth.

DRINKING SUGGESTIONS: A wine for both early and late evening. A delicious accompaniment to fruit desserts (fruit tart, fruit salad).

PROFILE: This is an enchanting wine of vigour, combining freshness of Spirit with the refinement of Heart.

Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 1996

Bin No

HATCH-060

Size

6 x 75cl

Price

£575.00

1996 VINTAGE: Although the seasons were very changeable, it was with some surprise that grapes of remarkable quality and with exceptional characteristics were harvested.

We have to go back to 1928 to find a potential alcohol-acidity combination of this level and of this quality. Given the historical reputation of this year, there is every hope that 1996 will be an outstanding vintage.

COMPOSITION: This admirable champagne was produced in the cellars of the thirteenth century Saint-Nicaise Abbey in Reims. The greatest care is taken at every stage of production. Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is only produced when all the conditions, essential to its unique style, are met:

The harvest must be of exceptional quality and worthy of vintage champagne.

It is made exclusively from white Chardonnay grapes (100% “Grands Crus”) from the most renowned vineyards of the Côte des Blancs.

Only wines from the first pressing (La Cuvée) are used. This guarantees the wine’s finesse.

5% of the wines used in the blend are aged in new oak barrels (one third of which are replaced every year), thus enhancing the intrinsic qualities of the final blend.

TASTING: The colour is very pale yellow. The bubbles, extremely fine and light, form a sublime, active and unending ribbon of mousse.

The bouquet is intense, expressive, particularly subtle and complex. It starts out with floral aromas of hawthorn and beeswax giving way to discreet notes of lime and fresh pineapple.

On the palate, the wine is very lively and persistent to the finish, with mainly lemony flavours together with very delicate aromas of dried flowers and lime blossoms.

In all, a magnificent champagne full of finesse, elegance but also complexity and richness.

"This gets better every time I have it. Even though I have been scoring it in the mid-nineties since its release, I am beginning to think I have underrated it. 1996 is an exquisite vintage for Champagne, ranking alongside my all time favorite, 1990, only fresher. This marvelous 1996 is loaded with yeasty brioche notes intermixed with honeyed citrus, and a texture reminiscent of a fine white Burgundy."

98 Points Robert Parker ~ The Wine Advocate June 2006

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