Taittinger | Brut Reserve – NV

Introduction

Sparkling Wine: Taittinger | Brut Reserve – NV

The expressive nose offers hints of peach, hawthorn and brioche. The palate is lively and fresh with a lightly honeyed finish.

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Producer: Taittinger

Ratings: WA | 90 EA | 91

Vintage: NV

Size: 750ml

ABV: 12%

Varietal: Champagne Blend

Country/Region: France, Champagne

The expressive nose offers hints of peach, hawthorn and brioche. The palate is lively and fresh with a lightly honeyed finish.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Taittinger’s NV Brut Reservea blend of more than 35 different vineyards, assembling 40% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir and 25% Pinot Meunier, including 30% reserve wineshas a clear, fresh and vinous bouquet with Pinot Meunier flavors in front. Bottled in 2014 and disgorged in March 2017 with nine grams of dosage, this is a lithe and fresh but mouth-filling Brut with round and aromatic fruit. It tastes almost as charming as the Ros Prestige yet less vinous and is rather lean and fresh.

• Essi Avellan: This lightly Chardonnay-driven blend benefits from some 30% of reserve wines from the previous two harvests. Pale lemon-green colour. The lovely, fragrant sweetly fruity nose has ripe pear, crunchy red apple and zingy lemon. The palate is light and refreshing, but with a lovely fruit purity and intensity. Lingering silky palate and classy, creamy mousse. There is a lovely easiness and quaffing character to this.

Producer Information

Taittinger is one of Champagne’s most famous houses. Based in the city of Reims, Taittinger is known for its Chardonnay-dominant cuves, the pinnacle of which is the blanc de blancs prestige cuve, Comtes de Champagne. The family-owned estate has approximately 290 hectares (710 acres) of vines, around half of which is planted to Pinot Noir, with Chardonnay and a small amount of Pinot Meunier making up the rest. These vineyards contribute 50 percent of Taittinger’s output, with the rest coming from growers who have historical relationships with the house. Taittinger’s Brut Reserve NV is composed of 40 percent Chardonnay, with the two Pinots making up the remainder. This makes for a fresh and reasonably delicate house style. In addition to this, Taittinger makes a range of Champagne styles, including a demi-sec, several ross and an array of single-vineyard, vintage and otherwise limited-edition wines. The Comtes de Champagne is Taittinger’s top wine, and was first made in the 1952 vintage. The grapes are mostly sourced from grand cru vineyards across Aviz, Chouilly and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. Oak is used sparingly to impart flavors of brioche and grilled almonds, rather than to add any tannins or weight. The bottles are kept for at least 10 years in the underground chalk galleries beneath the former Saint-Nicaise Abbey in Reims (now the Taittinger headquarters). Taittinger’s flagship is considered one of the most consistent blanc de blancs (effectively a Chardonnay-only Champagne) from the region. Taittinger also produces a somewhat rarer Comtes de Champagne Brut Ros. The blend for this wine is more Pinot Noir-dominant with only 30 percent Chardonnay in the base wine and 15 percent of the Pinot Noir vinified as a red wine (in other words, fermented on skins) prior to blending. The house was established under Pierre Taittinger in 1932. His son Franois took the reins in 1945 and built up the cellars and the vineyards, establishing Taittinger as a top Champagne house. In 2005, the company was sold to US investment group Starwood, but was bought back a year later by the family. Most recently, Taittinger has established a vineyard in the English region of Kent.