Taittinger is a relatively young Champagne house, whose history started only in the therties and is still in the hands of the same family as the founder, the Alsatian Pierre Taittinger. Actually, Pierre Taittinger bought the Forest-Fourneaux maison that had existed in Rilly-la-Montagne since 1734 and renovated it giving it his name. The headquarters are located in Reims, where the 13th century Abbey of Saint-Nicaise once stood but was destroyed during the French Revolution. Taittinger has tunnels dug into the chalk dating back to the 4th century, an ideal place for the long aging of the Champagne bottles in autolysis on the lees. The owned vineyards are 288 hectares distributed in 37 distinct Crus; the most cultivated grape is Chardonnay. However, the maison also buys grapes for 50% of the total.
The wines are based on Chardonnay and aim for elegance as a distinctive element rather than structure; it is no coincidence that the maison's prestige cuvée is a blanc de blancs: the Comtes de Champagne. The range of labels is very articulated also including various rosés and Champagnes with some sweetness such as Sec or Demi-sec. With 6.2 million bottles produced annually, Taittinger ranks among the top 10 Champagne houses. Recently it has also bought vineyards in the English region of Kent.