Every Friday The no1 Champagne expert in the world will taste new & old Champagne s to give You a tip or two for the weekend. On a fresh spring day Richard Juhlin went to the 1er cru Pierry & Châtreau La Marquetterie to taste Champagne Taittinger.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
PRODUCER PROIFILE – Taittinger
★★★★
The company now has 288 hectares in 34 villages, which supply some 45 percent of its grape needs. Experiments with small numbers of new oak barrels began in 1988 with the prestige wine Comtes de Champagne and later for the Folies de Marquetterie otherwise mainly all the wines are fermented in large steel tanks and put through malolactic fermentation. The firm is well known for its efforts to support major projects outside the local region. For example, the company owned one hotel chain, two wine companies in the Loire Valley, and one wine company in California.
Today full concentration on the champagne. The artist-designed Collection bottles have become a huge success in sales terms, in spite of the exorbitant prices that will soon become even dearer. The non-vintage Champagne can be a touch uneven, but it often reflects the soft, flowery house-style well. The vintage wine is a real charmer, which sometimes sadly lacks aging potential.
The real star is the Comtes de Champagne, an exemplary blanc de blancs from Cramant, Avize, Oger, Le Mesnil and Chouilly. The champagne is the best in its style, with its soft, exotic, and creamy taste. I imagine that the Comtes de Champagne is the champagne most appreciated by the broadest public. It contains no difficult aromas, but instead an abundance of charmingly sweet and soft tastes in an elegant and luxurious style.
In any case, it contains an aromatic spectrum that is exciting enough for even the most fastidious expert to fall head over heels for its beauty. Even Comtes de Champagne Rosé can be a treat if you have patience. This champagne—made by contact with Pinot Noir grapeskins from Ambonnay and Bouzy—can appear a bit sweet and clumsy when young, but it usually develops magically. Gentle Alexandre Ponnavoy is the man responsible for how these wines taste. Very close to five stars thanks to Comtes de Champagne!
