In 1734, Jacques Fourneaux, a merchant of champagne wines, established the company that would some day become Taittinger. In that early part of the XVIIIth century, the Benedictine abbeys of Hautvillers, Pierry, Verzy, and Saint-Nicaise in Reims, owned the best vineyards in the Champagne region. They cultivated the vines and pressed the harvest to produce the first sparkling wines which they either sold themselves, or through agents in Epernay or Reims. Jacques Fourneaux therefore joined the great adventure of the champagne trade...cautiously at first.
The company prospered throughout the XIXth century and after the First World War moved to the fine XIIIth century historical residence located on rue de Tambour: "The House of the Counts of Champagne". This was the home of Thibaud IV, known as the Singer, who brought back from Cyprus the vines which are the ancestors of today's Chardonnay. It is at this time that the merger occurred between the company, which had come to be known as Fourneaux-Forest, and the Taittinger family, which would ultimately take control.
The Taittinger family had its roots in Lorraine, but left its native province in 1870 following the Treaty of Frankfurt and settled in the Paris area in order to retain its French nationality.
In around 1912, Pierre-Charles Taittinger was running a business involved in the distribution and export of champagne with one of his brothers-in-law. A young cavalry officer during the First World War he made his first visit to the Château de la Marquetterie near Epernay, at that time the headquarters of General de Castelnau and Marshal Joffre. He instantly fell in love with this magnificent property in the purest XVIIIth century style, anchored to the slope of one of the finest Champagne hillsides; its vineyards, unusually, planted partly with white "Chardonnay" grapes and partly with red "Pinot", giving the vineyards the appearance of a huge chessboard in the weeks leading up to the harvest. The vineyards of la Marquetterie had been run by Friar Oudart, one of the founding fathers of champagne.
In 1932 Pierre Taittinger succeeded in acquiring the great residence, which had formerly been home to the philosopher Cazotte, who was sent to the guillotine during the French Revolution for his loyalty to King Louis XVI.
Something of an innovator and visionary, Pierre Taittinger decided that Chardonnay was to be the dominant grape for the brand. This has been a wise choice since the modern consumer enjoys the lightness, finesse and elegance afforded by this variety. From 1945, François, the third son of Pierre Taittinger, along with his two brothers Jean and Claude, oversaw a period of remarkable growth for the champagne house which for a number of years had carried their family name and began operation in the cellars of the Saint-Nicaise monastery, built in the XIIIth century on magnificent Gallo-Roman chalk cellars dating from the second century. A tragic car accident in 1960 cut short his brief but prolific career. Since then Claude Taittinger has presided over the destiny of one of the last great champagne houses to bear the name of the family that runs it, himself overseeing the quality of its products in line with tradition.
Visit the
Taittinger website.
|
|
Red Wine
|
|
White Wine
|
|
Sparkling Wine & Champagne
|
Kosher
Wine which is produced and bottled under strict supervision and meets all standards to be certified Kosher.
Organic
Wine which is produced using organic practices and is free of all synthetic chemicals, antibiotics, hormones and pesticides.
Biodynamic
Biodynamic designation is regulated by Demeter, an international certification organization. Biodynamic agriculture is based on the view of a farm as a self-contained organism. Certified organic vineyards must meet Demeter"s additional criteria for a period of one year before earning the designation "biodynamic."
Sustainably Grown
Sustainable practices incorporate organic standards and may exceed them and include ecologically and socially sound business practices such as fair pay for farm workers and energy conservation.
Screw Cap
Wines sealed with a screw cap as opposed to a cork, which experts report protects and preserves wine more effectively than does a cork, while also eliminating the possibility of cork taint.
No Sulfites
All wines naturally contain some sulfites, however wines that contain less than 10 parts per million sulfites are not required to include "Contains Sulfites" on their labels.
Futures
Wines that are still in the barrel and have yet to be bottled. Futures offer the opportunity to invest in a wine before it arrives in our store.
Pre-arrivals
Like futures, pre-arrivals are wines that have not yet arrived on our shelves, however they may or may not be a new release. Pre-arrivals may already be bottled and en route to our store.
Wine Advocate
The Wine Advocate is a bimonthly wine publication featuring the consumer advice of wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. Initially titled The Baltimore-Washington Wine Advocate the first issue was published in 1978. Accepting no advertising, the newsletter publishes in excess of 7,500 reviews per year, utilizing Parker's rating system that employs a 50-100 point quality scale.
Wine Spectator
Wine Spectator is a lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertainment pieces. Each issue also includes from 400 to more than 1,000 wine reviews, which consist of wine ratings and tasting notes.
International Wine Cellar
Since 1997, the 100% subscriber-supported IWC has also been available in French and Japanese editions.
Wine Enthusiast
Wine Enthusiast Magazine is a lifestyle magazine covering wine, food, spirits, travel and entertaining topics. It was founded in 1988 by Adam and Sybil Strum and reaches 686,000 readers. Its wine ratings, conducted by reviewers in major wine-producing areas of the world, are considered an influential gauge for consumers and professionals in the wine industry.
Wine & Spirits
Wine and Spirits is America's practical guide to the straightforward, enlightened enjoyment of fine wine and and premium spirits. We have for 18 years served customers and marketers alike with a lively mix of wine reviews, features, profiles, food and wine pairings, new product introductions, travel pieces, history, opinion and wine business news.
Burghound
Burghound.com was the first of its kind to offer specialized, and more importantly, exhaustive coverage of a specific wine region. The first Issue was released in January of 2001 and there are now subscribers in more than 50 countries and nearly all 50 states. Allen Meadows spends over four months a year in Burgundy and visits more than 300 domaines during that time.
James Halliday
James is one of the world’s leading authorities on Australian wine, matching intelligent, honest reviews with unparalleled knowledge of, and passion for, the wine industry.
Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine
For thirty-five years, Connoisseurs’ Guide has been the authoritative voice of the California wine consumer. With readers in all fifty states and twenty foreign countries, the Guide is valued by wine lovers everywhere for its honesty and for it strong adherence to the principles of transparency, unbiased, hard-hitting opinions.
James Suckling
I rate wines using the 100-points scale. I have used this point system for close to 25 years. I still believe it is the simplest way to rate a wine, with its origins from grade school in the United States. A wine that I rate 90 points or more is outstanding (A), and worth buying. If I rate a wine 95 points or more (A+), it is a must buy.
View from the Cellar
View From the Cellar, an electronic wine newsletter published bi-monthly by John Gilman.
Wine Journal
Homepage for wine writer, Neal Martin's, "Diary of a Wine Writer".
Malt Advocate
Malt Advocate magazine is America's leading whisky magazine. It's the number one source for whisky information, education and entertainment for whisky enthusiasts.
The Rhone Report
Dedicated to the wines and grapes of the Rhone Valley
Wine Review Online
Wine Review Online was originally conceived by Publisher Robert Whitley as an all-encompassing platform for the many talented wine journalists he came across in his travels as wine columnist for the Creators Syndicate.
All sizes are 750mL unless otherwise noted.
Vintages and ratings subject to change at any time.
All pricing and availability subject to change.
