Virginie Taittinger launches Champagne

Virginie Taittinger of the Taittinger Champagne dynasty has launched her own Champagne brand.

Virginie Taittinger

“Virginie T.” is a brut non-vintage made from two thirds Pinot Noir and one third Chardonnay, 85% of which are grown in grand cru vineyard sites in Verzenay and Avize.

The remaining 15% come from highly rated crus, including Chardonnay from Villers Mamery.

Around 100,000 bottles of the inaugural Brut NV were produced, made principally with grapes from the 2009 vintage, with the reserve wine coming from 2008.

“My cuvée reflects the special features of the great Pinot Noir vines of the Reims hills, enhanced by the delicacy of the Côte des Blancs Chardonnays,” she said.

She describes the fizz as being: “rich, broad and expressive, with good structure, elegance, aromas of candied fruits and mineral notes from the Chardonnay.”

“To keep the cuvée dry and fresh, I deliberately kept the sugar content low when carrying out the disgorgement at the end of 2009,” she added.

In addition to the Brut NV, Taittinger also makes a rosé blend of Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, which she recommends serving as an apéritif.

Having worked under her father, Claude Taittinger, for 21 years, in 2006, Virginie felt the time was right to branch out and go it alone.

For now, both the Brut NV and the Rosé are solely sold directly to consumers via Taittinger’s website, virginie-t.com, whose landing page features bottles of the fizz against different colour backgrounds in a nod to Andy Warhol’s screen prints.

“Selling my Champagne in this way, I can reduce the number of intermediaries between producer and consumer, and thereby the final price,” she said.

There is currently an “introductory offer” for the Brut NV at £25.90 a bottle, including free delivery.

At present, both wines are on sale in France, the UK, Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg, though Taittinger has plans to widen her distribution network.

Having recently introduced a magnum format of her Brut NV, a 2009 vintage release is expected to follow next year.