The Taittinger Experience

Last Monday I was fortunate enough to share a drink with a man with perhaps the most famous last name in all of wine: Taittinger. Clovis Taittinger is the son of Pierre Emmanuel Taittinger, the current head of the legendary Champagne house. Clovis' role is Deputy Export Director and last Monday he was exporting his own brand of French charm over snacks and champagne at Boulcott Street bistro.

Taittinger champagne must be the elixir of youth as Clovis looks nothing like his 32 years. It was funny to hear him speak of a relatively lengthy career prior to joining the family business in 2007, because he simply didn't look to be old enough. But the more I saw of his manner and charm, the less likely it seemed his age would have ever proved much of a barrier to anything.

Clovis is the type of man who really makes you want to learn French. At one point he couldn't quite find the English words for some romantic concept he was trying to express and rightly decided it would be more compelling in French anyway. While I still have no idea what the music that came out of his mouth meant, I feel I got his meaning well enough.

Proceedings began with a glass of the Taittinger Brut Reserve NV (18.5/20) It had a delightful pink-gold complexion, and a nose that reminded me of strawberry dairy food and pain grille. The lees was apparent through the creamy chardonnay texture but the mousse was lively enough and with good acidity that the champagne was refreshing and balanced. Looking at the very reasonable price I might just have found myself a little something nice for Christmas day.

The second wine was the Taittinger Prelude Grands Crus NV (18.5-/20), which strangely Clovis described as a 'fishing' wine (maybe you use the cork as a floater?)...It had a finer mousse than the Brut Reserve, with an oaky rich chardonnay character. Leesy and fat, the wine had a hint of phenolics on the drying finish. This was not a wine to be trifled with. The Les Folies de la Marquetterie NV (19/20) was a pale green gold with a tight acid structure and drier finish. But it still maintained the Taittinger leesy richness. A very impressive wine indeed.

The final two wines were the heavy hitters: the Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs 1999 and Comtes de Champagne Rose 2004. The Blanc de Blancs (19/20) had a stunning nose: where the other cuvees had smelt like chardonnay, its aromas were more fine white burgundy than of the grape itself. The wine was mealy, vanillin and balanced. The Rose (19.5/20) on the other hand, while clearly still chardonnay influenced, had 70% pinot noir (15% still red wine) to give it the extra edge, with a red fruit tang and focus for the richness, along with a slight tannic bite. The culmination of all that was good about the structures of the preceding wines.