Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/581407
56 / the tasting panel / october 2015 W hat does it take in a place like Champagne to keep a business in the family for four genera- tions? Serious dedication, passion, a sense of duty and whatever it costs to keep the family name on the wine labels. In other words, it's priceless to members of the Taittinger family, which has oper- ated one of France's most renowned and storied Champagne houses since the 1930s, when Pierre Taittinger purchased the Côte des Blancs vineyards he'd fallen in love with while sta- tioned there as a soldier during the First World War. The 2006 Comtes de Champagne is the first vintage release from Champagne Taittinger since Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, the grandson of founder Pierre, rescued Taittinger from corpo- rate ownership. Pierre-Emmanuel rallied support and funds to reclaim the company, just months after Claude, the son of founder Pierre and Pierre-Emmanuel's uncle, and the majority of the Taittinger family had sold the estate to the U.S. property investment firm, Starwood Capital. With the return of the business to family hands, Pierre-Emmanuel quickly paved the way for the ascen- by Rachel Signer Continuity of Tradition A New Generation at Champagne Taiinger At Beverly Hills, CA's Heritage Fine Wines, proprietor Jordane Andrieu, who owns a winery in Auxey- Duresses, thinks of Champagne Taittinger as a family brand. PHOTO: DUSTIN DOWNING Signature traits of this esteemed house are maintained with the release of the 2006 Comtes de Champagne wines.