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Taittinger Champagne
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 House of the Counts of Champagne
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.
Fourneaux-Forest label, 1839 vintage
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.
Château de la Marquetterie
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.
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