Through the lens of time: Taittinger Comtes de Champagne

I have long been a fan of Comtes de Champagne and have attended several vertical tastings. I recently convinced a number of New York-based collectors to pool their resources and stage another at the two-star Michelin Aquavit in New York City.

Scroll down to see Charles Curtis MW’s tasting notes and scores for 21 vintages of Comtes de Champagne

The results were intriguing, particularly in comparison to the report in these pages five years ago by Christelle Guibert, who attended a vertical drawn from the collection of Marina Olsson of the tasting group Gomseglet Wine & Champagne Connoisseurs and warmly praised some of the older vintages, scoring them highly, though with a few caveats in her notes.

It was fascinating to see how those have changed over the intervening years. Of course, both tastings were from private collections, if extremely reputable ones, rather than the Taittinger cellar.

But first, some history.

Taittinger’s blanc de blancs cuvée, Comtes de Champagne, has long exerted an uncanny attraction to many collectors. A fairly recent invention, it arrived much later than the ancestors of the prestige cuvée category such as Louis Roederer Cristal or Dom Pérignon.

The first vintage was 1952, neatly coinciding with Bollinger RD and Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle. Each of these found a ready audience, but Comtes de Champagne is the only Blanc de Blancs among this trio. Vintage after vintage, it represents superb value for collectors. Reasonably priced upon release, it quickly surges on the secondary market. I purchased a bottle of the 2008 vintage while preparing the manuscript of my book on vintage Champagne in 2019 for $150; when I re-tasted the 2008 in 2022, it had risen to more than $250.

Comtes de Champagne: behind the label

In most years, the Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs (there is a rosé version as well) is produced exclusively from fruit from the five grands crus of the Côte des Blancs: Chouilly, Cramant, Oger, Avize, and Le Mesnil.

The cuvée was the brainchild of Claude Taittinger and his American importer, Rudy Kopf, the head of Kobrand, a US-based wine and spirits importer.

Only the first press juice is used. The first fermentation is mostly done in stainless steel tanks, although the chef de caves Loïc Dupont re-introduced a small proportion of barrel-fermented base wines in 1988 (seldom more than 5%) to add depth and roundness to the blend.

The malolactic conversion is invariably finished, and the wine typically ages 10 years or more on the lees before it is disgorged with a dosage that is generally in the range of 9-10g/L.

Champagne Taittinger: a complicated history

Taittinger is both modern and ancient. The house traces its roots to the firm of Jacques Fourneaux, founded in 1734. It was only the third firm to produce Champagne (after Ruinart in 1729 and Chanoine Frères in 1730).

The firm became one of the leading houses in the 19th century, and proprietor of both Château de la Marquetterie in Pierry and the ancient building called the Demeure des Comtes de Champagne on the Rue de Tambour in Reims. This building was once owned by Theobald the Troubadour, Comte de Champagne, hence the name of the cuvée.

During World War I, a young officer named Pierre Taittinger was billeted in the Château de la Marquetterie while he was attached to the command of Marshal Joffre.

In 1932, Pierre Taittinger bought the Château, and acquired the firm of Forest-Fourneaux, changing the name of the house to Champagne Taittinger.

Active in politics between the two wars, he was elected president of the Municipal Council of Paris in 1943 under the German occupation. From the end of World War II, the firm was directed by François Taittinger, Pierre’s son by his first wife, along with his brother Jean and half-brother Claude. During this period, Taittinger purchased their magnificent facility in the Abbaye de Saint-Nicaise and the adjoining crayères, or chalk caves. After the untimely death of François in a 1960 car accident, Claude took over the direction of the firm.

During Claude’s administration, the firm came to international prominence and expanded gradually. Champagne sales grew, particularly in the US, and in 1954 Pierre Taittinger also became the president of the hotel chain Société du Louvre.

By the turn of the millennium, the group included luxury hotels such as the Crillon and Lutetia in Paris, the Martinez on the Côte d’Azur, and budget chains such as Kyriad, Première Classe, and Campanile.

The 45 descendants of Pierre Taittinger voted in 2004 to sell their holdings for £1.8 billion to Starwood, who were less interested in making Champagne than in running hotels. Fortunately, Pierre’s grandson Pierre-Emmanuel was able to put together a successful bid to buy back the Champagne house with the assistance of Crédit Agricole and the support of the unions. Today, he works alongside his son Clovis and his daughter Vitalie, both of whom are involved in the day to day running of the estate.

Invest in younger vintages for great reward

My takeaway from this private collection tasting is that young vintages of Comtes de Champagne are among the best values in prestige cuvée Champagne because they appreciate well in the secondary market. Comtes is a wine to buy young and lay down.

Top vintages such as 1990, 1996, and 2008 are also normally among the best champagnes of the vintage and will age for forty to fifty years.

Lesser vintages will be consistent, if not spectacular – although they may not make old bones. A word to the wise: be on the lookout for the next blockbuster, the yet-to-be-released 2012.

Charles Curtis MW’s Comtes de Champagne tasting notes and scores:

The wines below were tasted by Charles Curtis MW from private collections. Tasting notes from the previous private collection tasting can be found by clicking through to each wine.

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