Kitty's Champagne Year

Taittinger is my mother in law’s favourite champ.  It is her go to for all occasions that need to be appropriately fêted.  I love that Grace Kelly was their spokesperson and they did indeed have a brilliant marketing campaign.

I have written about the Tattinger demi-sec and adore Domaine Caneros–their sparkling house in Napa Valley that is fashioned after a French chateau–amour!  I will not be addressing either of these here, but specifically reporting about their Brut.

There is no question that Tattinger Brut is good. The bigger question here is how does it compare to other bottles in a similar price point?  The only true way that this can be decided is by a blind tasting which we will definitely do at some point again this year and will surely include the Germ’s mother who is such a fan.

The bottle that we had was yummy–but it was lacking.  One glass into it, I became quickly snuffed up.  This is a relatively new phenomena that I have inherited from my mother and is the result of a mild  sulpha allergy which is getting worse.  Growing up, I recall my mother becoming extremely congested, often with red wines, but the bottom line was the congestion was the result of sulphites present in the bottle.  Sulphites in champ?  It didn’t cross my mind.  I checked the back label of the bottle and there it was.  The disclaimer–this bottle contains sulphites.  Since we always have many bottles of champagne on hand, I checked a few others.  Surprsingly, Taittinger was not the only bottle to contain sulphites.  Since I haven’t had this reaction from many other bottles of champ, I am going to be on the watch, trying other bottles that do contain sulphites and see if the reaction (which I will say is quite a sniffly unpleasant mess) continues.

Founded in 1734, the Taittinger Champagne house is based in Reims. The flagship wines of the house are the Comtes de Champagne (composed of 100% Chardonnay) and Comtes de Champagne Rosé (1

Champagne Taittinger was established in 1931 by Pierre Taittinger on the foundations of Forest-Forneaux, itself established in 1734 and the third-oldest wine producing house of Champagne. Taittinger is today proprietor of approximately 600 acres of vines among which are included parcels in the one hundred – percent rated villages of Cramant and Avize in the Cote des Blancs; and Bouzy, Mailly, Ambonnay and Verzenay in the Montagne de Reims. The Taittinger Estate is one of the three most extensive in the Champagne district, and the firm’s major holdings in Chardonnay vineyards are the physical expression of the Taittinger philosophy and style.Medium straw color, with an impressive mousse and a fine, active bead; plenty of yeasty bread dough on the nose, which, with a good dose of minerality, takes on a supporting role to the rich under-ripe apple in the flavor profile. Plenty of froth in the mouth, zippy acidity, good intensity and nice length on the finish. Solid, straightforward Champagne, making no pretension to be anything more than it is, and quite enjoyable for all that; frankly, I could drink this two or three times a week.

That being said, we finished the bottle–snuffed up be damned.

Pierrel Brut Champagne is a gem.  With a gorgeous, non-traditional bottle, this champagne hails from a relatively new house and a young blender.  Pierrel champagne is unexpectedly delicious.

Lets start with the bottle–it is like nothing I have ever seen.  The new design keeps out harmful UV rays, shuns tradition and makes Pierrel a standout.

The champagne is refined with delicate bubbles which allows for its golden, elegant mousse.

There are notes of citrus and floral–but they are not overwhelming, allowing this champ to be enjoyed on its own or beautifully paired with food.  If you love minerality in your champ (as I do), this bottle is for you. There are lovely and complex undertones which surely come from the blend of 50% chardonnay, 40% pinot menuier and 10% pinot noir.  Pierrel should only be described as elegant.

I will continue to keep my eyes peeled for Pierrel Champagne and will look forward to popping more bottles when an occasion presents itself.  There never seems to be a shortage of occasions non?

Champagne Detail #4:   The cage, the collar or the muselet–are three different, all correct names for the wire contraption that holds the cork in place.  This cage (what we call it in our house) ALWAYS has six turns.  I finally have a favourite number!

I really do love Moët & Chandon.  Until pressed in a blind tasting, I was convinced that Moët was my absolute favourite (but of course, I am very open to finding a new favourite and recommendations are always welcome).  Moët & Chandon was the champagne of choice on my wedding day.  The first bottles were popped while getting ready before I walked down the aisle…Delicious.  Is there anything so festive or celebratory as champagne?

Moët is lovely and smooth.  It provides all of the elements that a fine bottle of champagne needs to deliver.  As one of the oldest, biggest and most powerful champagne houses, Moët & Chandon has a lusciously rich history which includes everything from a current Royal Warrant to supply Queen Elizabeth II with champagne to holding some of the most notable historic champagne accounts like Napoleon and Queen Victoria–to name only a few. The Moët brand continues to maintain a significant presence in the world of champagne, luxury goods and beyond.   In 1987 a merger of Louis Vuitton and Moët Hennessy took place, creating the powerhouse luxury brand known as LVMH where Christian Dior is the main holding company with over 42% of the shares and 59% of the voting rights.  There are over 60 high end brands under the LVMH umbrella which includes everything from Fendi to Céline, Bulgari to Donna Karan.

For the past 21 years, Moët & Chandon has been the official champagne of the Golden Globe Awards.  This year, every table had a magnum of 2002 Grand Vintage (yum) in a silver ice bucket on the table, of course with the label proudly displayed.  Everyone loves the Golden Globes because it is a boozy event, but what makes it even more fun is the fact that it is a champagne boozy event. The best kind of boozy event ever!

Moët usually runs slightly less in cost than Veuve, but it is generally more expensive than the smaller, lesser known champagne houses.

The colour is straw, with gorgeous, delicate ribbons of bubbles and a lovely smooth finish.   It is a solid go-to champagne, maintains serious brand power and is always widely available. Moët performed very well at our blind tasting with many people ranking it as their favourite champ.

In 2011, Scarlett Johanson became the face of Moët & Chandon’s latest advertising campaign with a truly stunning array of pictures.  Each one is more beautiful than the next. It is so fitting to have such a gorgeous startlet photographed with champagne–non? Here are a few of the images from the campaign…

Moët will not disappoint.  Their California house Chandon is a much less expensive option and will be discussed further in a later crémant entry and truly explored in a future blind crémant tasting.

Champagne Detail #2 : You pronounce the T.  The proper pronunciation of Moët is MO–ette.