A household name in more than one household, Taittinger has slowly come back to the spotlight. Edged out by its more famous neighbours, the impressive domaine (a whopping 288-hectares) changed direction in 2006 when it returned under family control. Thus honouring over 300 years of history, it is safe to say that when it comes to investible Champagnes, Taittinger is back.

The second largest landowner in Champagne (the first is Moet Hennessy), Taittinger was founded in 1734. Happy days followed, but prohibition, the great depression and a world war meant Maison Forest-Fourneux (as Taittinger was known at the time) fell into debt and was sold off. Enter Pierre Taittinger, a French WWI hero (and recipient of the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest order of merit) who fell in love with the Champagne region when he was in service. Thus Maison Taittinger was born in 1932, and the rest, as they say, is history. Fast forward to present day and today it is Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger who is at the helm and has invested in a new production site worth a reputed €60m, adding two cuvees to their name and producing a massive 5-6 million bottles annually. To date, Taittinger is the only French Champagne house to see the potential of English soil (they planted a number of vines in Kent in 2017, to be marketed under the name Domaine Evremond).

Collectors considerTaittinger to be among the most investment-worthy in the world. So many vintages to choose from but 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 could be considered greats; all of the former vintages have earned an average score of at least 94 points from critics, and both the Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs and the Rosé are expected to age beautifully over the next ten or twenty years.

Since 1983, the Champagne house has produced 14 limited edition bottles (produced in a very small number), each one vintage and decorated by world-renowned artists including Victor Vasarely, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg and many others who have illustrated the ‘Taittinger Collection’. Unsurprisingly, these bottles are in extremely high demand, with prices trending upwards year on year.