Champagne AOC Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Brut 'Comtes de Champagne' Vintage 2012 (750 ml. deluxe gift box) Taittinger

THE CHAMPAGNE

Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut "Comtes de Champagne" is the finest example of the Taittinger House style and is always a vintage cuvée. It is made with 100% white grapes from the 5 villages with a Grands Crus classification for the Chardonnay grape (Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Oger, Mesnil-sur-Oger).This cuvée is created using juice from the first press only. A small percentage (5 %) of the blend is aged in fresh oak barrels to create the very delicate balance of toasted notes in the final wine. Taittinger knows it must be patient with these great Chardonnays, which are the crowning glory of its terroir; the Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs remains for up to 10 years in the chalk quarries beneath Saint-Nicaise, before emerging to ignite and delight the palates of wine-lovers. It stands out for its elegance and finesse of the sip.

CÔTE DES BLANCS

Spirit, vitality, sophistication and elegance

The strength and sophistication of the Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs comes from the exceptional conditions found in the Côte des Blancs region.

Its slopes are located south of Epernay and dominate the chalky Champagne plain. 95% of its vineyards are planted with Chardonnay vines, whose white grapes create champagne with a light, delicate aroma full of character and vitality.

A refined Chardonnay

In 1952, the Taittinger Champagne House created the Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs - its most exclusive and premium cuvée - in honour of the Comtes de Champagne and in particular Thibaud IV, whose seal proudly adorns every bottle of Taittinger.

It is made only with Chardonnay grapes from the Grands Crus of the Côte des Blancs region, including the villages of Avize, Cramant, Chouilly, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger, which all have a renowned soil quality for this particular variety in the region.

THE MAISON

Among the oldest Maison of the entire appellation, Taittinger is a name that inevitably identifies in every corner of the world one of the greatest French families that has contributed in a decisive way to the success of Champagne.

The history of this mythical Maison began in 1743, when Jacques Fourneaux began his business as a merchant, first selling white and red wines, and then devoting himself to the sale of bubbles. The Forneaux family continued to operate in this sector with great results, joining forces with Antoine Forest, creating the company "Forest-Forneaux" and increasing its success.

In 1932 a young man with a passion for wine, Pierre-Charles Taittinger, bought the "Forest-Forneaux" and began his wine-growing adventure under the Taittinger brand in the town of Reims. Since the beginning of production, the Maison has established an ever increasing bond with its bottles with a particular grape variety, chardonnay, an increasingly central grape variety in every assembly, up to the exit, under the direction of Francois Taittinger, in the 1952, by Comtes de Champagne, the first "Cuvée de Prestige" produced in the area entirely made with only white grapes.

Today at the head of the company we find, since 2005, Pierre-Emanuel Taittinger, direct descendant of Pierre-Charles, surrounded by a team where competence and professionalism are the fulcrum of a winery that continues to be animated by a strong spirit of conquest and tradition.

There are 288 hectares of property, scattered among 34 of the best crus in the whole region; here mainly chardonnay and pinot noir are grown, to which is added a 15% pinot meunier. Every year nine labels are born between the walls of Reims, where Brut Reserve, "Prestige" Rosé and "Nocturne" flank the great Comtes de Champagne and the different vintage wines that carry the great coat of arms of the Maison Taittinger around the world.