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Telegraph
20-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Forget Champagne – invest in these English wines for big returns
England's wine industry is ageing like a fine Sussex red. Tastings have proved that home-grown vintages punch well above their weight compared to established brands, and tours of English vineyards are attracting wine aficionados from across the world. Yet while the quality of reds and whites is improving rapidly, it's sparkling wine that's catching the eye of connoisseurs, as well as courageous investors. French Champagne houses are snapping up real estate in Kent, Sussex and Hampshire in an attempt to capitalise on the British wine boom. Pommery, Taittinger and the Cava behemoth Henkell Freixenet have all bought vineyards in southern England – as a warming climate pushes grape-growing northwards. As the industry has expanded, so too have the opportunities to make money from English wine as an investment. The market is still in its infancy, but with heightened risk comes opportunity. Here, Telegraph Money explains how to boost the odds of lucrative returns. The basics of wine investing Which English wines to invest in How to fit English wine into your portfolio Storing your wine Making investments tax-efficient The basics of wine investing The theory of wine investment is straightforward: you buy wine, store it and sell it later when its value has risen. The quality and scarcity of fine wine tends to appreciate over time, along with its price. Because wine is a physical, tangible asset, like property or gold, it typically performs well against inflation. The kicker is that wine can spoil if kept under the wrong conditions. Only some wines are good enough to make the cut. Less than 1pc of the wine produced around the world is considered 'investment grade' due to its quality, brand equity, limited supply, vintage appeal and ageing potential. Will Hargrove, of fine wine merchant Corney & Barrow, says investing in wine should never be done with a time horizon of less than five to 10 years. He says: 'You need to be able to weather the ups and downs of what goes on in the world. 'When you buy and store wine, you're going through a transition where the wine stops being available on the shelves to being available on the secondary market, hopefully at a higher price – although that's not always the case. 'Anyone investing in wine is relying on the consumer to be buying the wine and drinking it, because eventually the wine will go off.' Which English wines to invest in Because the investment market for English wines is still developing, there are no safe bets when it comes to choosing a vintage. Hargrove says: 'The quality [of English wine] is massively on the up, especially among sparkling, but there are some good whites too, and the odd red, starting to creep in. 'The problem, from the point of view of investing, is no one knows how these wines are going to age, so it's a very tricky thing to get right.' However, Gregory Swartberg, of wine merchant Cru Wine, says that investors shouldn't dismiss English sparkling. He adds: 'There are English sparkling wines that are investment grade quality today and more will become investment grade over time. 'But you have to be extremely selective. You can't shoot blind in a brand or vintage you believe is good.' Among the best investment-grade English wines, according to Matthew Small, of wine investment platform WineFi, are Nyetimber's 1086 Prestige Cuvée – at around £150 a bottle for the 2010 vintage – and Gusbourne's Fifty One Degrees North, whose 2016 vintage retails for £195. If you compare 1086's critic score against one of the most famous Champagnes – Dom Perignon – for the same 2010 vintage, Nyetimber scores 17.5 out of 20, compared to Dom Perignon's 18.5. While the quality may be similar, English producers are at a disadvantage for one simple reason: brand recognition. Small says: 'Brand is one of the biggest determinants of price, as with all luxury goods. With wine the main three factors are brand, critic's score and supply. 'Dom Perignon is a globally recognised brand, and has massive distribution channels, massive history in every global market. Nyetimber is trying to build that. 'If you're going to invest in English sparkling, you're basically making the play that their brand is going to increase over time. 'Then the question is: what is the life expectancy of these wines? Or what we call the 'drinking window'. How long have we got for Nyetimber to become a globally recognised brand and for the price to go up?' Nyetimber's 1086 is given a drinking window of around 10 years by wine ratings index Jancis Robinson. The relatively short timescale shows why investing in English sparkling is more of a gamble, according to Small. 'For riskier investments you want a longer drinking window to give an opportunity for the brand recognition to increase. 'I'm not saying it won't happen, but a 10-year drinking window isn't a huge amount of time for a brand to become massive.' Swartberg believes there is 'zero chance' of English still wines ever becoming investment-grade. 'There are too many regions in the world that are making very good [still] wines,' he starts. 'In the UK labour is expensive, it cannot compete with Spain or South Africa. 'It cannot compete with Prosecco or Cava as the cost is too high. But it's competing with Champagne straight away – the product is that good. 'Nyetimber is leading the pack – it's been making really good sparkling for a while. They have fantastic cuvée. 'Wiston Estate, Exton Park and Hembledon Wine Estate – we've seen some investment in these from outside the UK. 'Chapel Down and Sugrue are doing some very good stuff. The quality is there, but the investment market is waiting to ignite.' 'Champagne used to have our climate' Growing confidence in English viticulture means even smaller producers have high hopes of producing investment-grade vintages. In a tranquil corner of north-west Essex, pea-sized grapes hang on rows of rustling vines under the dry July sun. The gently sloping 40-acre plot is surrounded by fields of wheat and divided by swaying alder trees which act as windbreaks to protect the precious crop. 'You've got to be a nutcase to do what I did,' says Paul Edwards, as he surveys the neat lines he first planted in 2008 – a £1.5m gamble at a time when the English wine industry was still in its hobbyist infancy. 'The farmers around us used to say 'what the hell are you doing?'. But in the end, it turned out to be viable.' Saffron Grange is a boutique vineyard and English sparkling wine producer on the outskirts of the historic market town of Saffron Walden. Edwards picked this spot because of its distinctive climate, topography and soil – what the French call 'terroir'. The site sits on a chalk seam that runs all the way from the renowned wine-growing regions of northern France, up through Sussex and into East Anglia. The same clay-loam upper layer of soil allowed crocuses to be grown and farmed for their saffron in the late Middle Ages – making the town rich and inspiring its name. The vineyard's logo is a woolly mammoth, a creature that 200,000 years ago roamed over the land where Edwards and family now tend their vines. 'The climate we have in England is what Champagne used to have 30 years ago in its heyday,' says Nick Edwards, Paul's son. 'This is why our focus has been on sparkling – we wanted to do one thing and do it well.' Saffron Grange is a minnow in the market, producing around 25,000 bottles a year – for around £30 each – compared to between one and two million from the established English names like Nyetimber and Chapel Down. These in turn are dwarfed by the big Champagne houses, such as Moët & Chandon, which produces around 30 million bottles a year. But there are perks of being a small player. Each October, some 300 volunteers pick up clippers and harvest the vineyard's crop, which is then carted to the winery's stainless steel fermentation tanks, before being rewarded with a slap-up meal. This loyalty and pride in a small local business has kept costs down, and helped Edwards to turn a modest profit for the first time this year. Paul and Nick believe their award-winning 2018 Classic Cuvée – a vibrant blend with notes of candied apple and stone fruit – is a candidate to become investment-grade one day. Most of their wines are aged for two to three years, but they are holding back a small batch of the 2018 to see just how good it can get. 'We're focussing on producing the best we can on our land and building a reputation,' says Nick. 'We want to be seen as excellent quality sparkling wine that's affordable, that people want to drink and that can be relied on annually. 'But for a small volume of our wines, we want to see where we can get to in terms of quality.' How to fit English wine into your portfolio Because of the higher risks involved in buying English wine, the smart move is to balance out the investment with safer bets elsewhere. Small says: 'The two key questions for an investor are: what's your time horizon and what's your risk tolerance? 'Unless you have massive risk tolerance, English wine has a small percentage to play in that portfolio. 'You would probably want under 5pc invested in English sparkling. Invest by all means, but alongside other more established regions.' Bordeaux makes up around 40pc of the fine wine investment market, down from its near monopoly before 2012, but still the biggest share of a single region. Bordeaux traditionally has been the least volatile segment of the market –and also the most liquid. 'If someone wants low-risk wine, I would say they should go with Bordeaux. If they're more returns-focused I would say Champagne and Burgundy,' Small says. 'You can get these incredible spikes in certain regions. That's why it's important to have exposure to all the regions, including England, in a way that matches your risk tolerance. 'It's very difficult to know when a region's going to spike, but when it does, as long as you have some exposure to it you're going to take advantage.' When considering which wines to invest in, Small says Wine-Searcher is 'a great tool'. The website offers a comprehensive database of all wines on the market and is used by merchants and investment houses to sell their bottles. 'Wine-Searcher also has critic scores and drinking windows. You can easily flick between wines to see how they rank. 'It's basically a Google search for all wines. It's got all that information on there.' Storing your wine If you are buying bottles of wine as an investment, you could choose to store it yourself. But be warned – maintaining optimal conditions is essential to ensure the wine remains at the highest quality possible, and doesn't undermine your investment when you eventually come to sell. Small says: 'When you invest in wine you're effectively a custodian of the wine. You're storing it until it's in its perfect drinking window. Then someone will buy it who doesn't want to store it but just wants to drink the wine when it's at its best.' However, if you are serious about building a portfolio, experts agree that storing your vintages 'in bond' is the best option. Buying in bond means your wine investment is stored in a specialist warehouse approved by HMRC. Small says: 'If you're buying these very expensive wines, a thing we call 'provenance' is essential – that's the quality of the wine and how well it's been kept. 'When you store in bond you know it's been stored in perfect humidity, light and temperature conditions. 'If you have a very rare bottle of wine but it was stored in someone's cellar you have no idea how it's been kept. Then you can struggle to sell that on. Storing in bond means there's an audit trail. You know it's been kept and stored properly.' Wine can also be insured to its market value when stored in bond, reducing the financial risk if something goes wrong. The tax benefit of in-bond storage is one of the biggest draws. Wine buyers are usually hit with a double-whammy of alcohol duty and then 20pc VAT on top of the duty and the price of the bottle. But when wine is stored in bond you only have to pay tax on it when you take it out of storage, and if you decide to sell the wine while in bond, you will avoid paying duty or VAT altogether. What's more, if you choose to have your wine delivered at a later date, the VAT is payable on the wine's original sale price rather than its current market value. Prices typically range from between £10 to £15-a-year to store a 12-bottle case of wine. There are bonded warehouses dotted across the country. Some of the biggest names include Arc Wine Reserves in Cambridgeshire, Berry Bros & Rudd in Basingstoke, and Nexus Vinothèque in Wiltshire. Making investments tax-efficient If a bottle of wine has a life expectancy of under 50 years then HMRC classifies it as a 'wasting asset', which means it is exempt from capital gains tax when sold. Capital gains tax is tax owed on the profit from selling an asset that has appreciated in value. Small says: 'One of the main reasons to invest in fine wines in the UK is that it is capital gains tax-exempt. 'This is a massive plus, and makes wine a very good diversifier. It's not a substitute for a portfolio in equity and bonds, but it's good to have alongside as it trades on different fundamentals.' The HMRC definition of a wasting asset is 'an asset with a predictable life not exceeding 50 years at the time when it was acquired'. When assessing how long the wine's life expectancy is, its shelf life, the wine's provenance, condition and vintage will all be taken into account by the taxman. While port and a few fine wines are exceptions, the vast majority of wine falls into the wasting asset category, and will be exempt. If the wine is deemed not to be a wasting asset, a seller would still benefit from the capital gains tax allowance on profits up to £3,000.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sailors brave strong winds in 'challenging' regatta
The Taittinger Royal Solent Yacht Club Regatta featured 198 boats competing in challenging conditions. The 17th edition of the event took place from Friday, July 4 to Sunday, July 6, in Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. Advertisement The first race on Saturday was particularly tough for all participants, as they faced a west-southwest breeze fluctuating between 19 and 23 knots and a deep swell. Many teams had to carry reefs, except for the 20 boats in IRC 1. READ MORE: Optimistic Isle of Wight athletes head for Island Games 2025 Jumping Jellyfish and McFly among top performers in high-stakes races (Image: Tim Jeffreys) As the wind continued to strengthen on Saturday morning, the White Group's boats headed towards the calmer waters off the Island shore. However, the Black Group braved the mid-Solent, with the downwind leg of the first race causing many boats to retire due to broaches, spinouts, and spinnaker issues. Advertisement With gusts peaking at over 30 knots at noon, the second race for the Black Group was cancelled. In the White Group, the six classes completed two races. Sunday saw a much calmer Western Solent, with the westerly breeze building swiftly from nine knots to gusts in the 20s towards noon. This allowed the Taittinger RSYC Race Committee to schedule Black Group's missing race from Saturday while White Group completed their single race for day two. SEE MORE: Wight Triathlon's summer event sees 22 athletes compete Taittinger RSYC Regatta draws 198 boats for thrilling Solent weekend (Image: Tim Jeffreys) The prize-giving ceremony on Sunday saw several repeat winners from last year's regatta. Advertisement David Richards's J109 Jumping Jellyfish celebrated a clean sweep with a 1-1-1 victory. Tony Mack and crew of J111 McFly scored 1-2-2, while Peter Lloyd's Spirit C72 Gwenhyfar II triumphed for a second year in the IRC Classic Cruiser Class. A comprehensive list of results for the 2025 Taittinger RSYC Regatta is available in the sailing results section. The regatta showcases the challenging yet rewarding nature of competitive sailing in the Western Solent. Despite the difficult conditions, the event was a success, with some boats standing out for their skill. The regatta continues to be a much-anticipated event in the sailing calendar, attracting participants from various classes.
Forbes
28-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Inside Taittinger's New Wine Tasting Experience In Champagne
A view of the entrance at Taittinger's visitor center in Reims. AFP via Getty Images Beneath a manicured garden in Reims lies one of the oldest wine cellars still in use. Carved into chalk more than 1,600 years ago, the vaulted caverns at Taittinger stretch nearly 60 feet underground, their walls layered with remnants of Roman quarries, medieval crypts and Benedictine abbey foundations. Now, above those same cellars, a new chapter is taking shape. This June, Champagne Taittinger is opening a brand new restaurant on-site, adding a full-service dining space to its visitor center for the first time. The focus will be lunch for daytime visitors, but there will be small plates designed to complement the maison's cuvées through the early evening. With both indoor and outdoor seating on the terrace overlooking the landscaped garden, the opening is part of a larger shift toward more accessible tasting experiences in the wine industry at large. The addition follows a series of changes introduced in late 2024, when Taittinger launched a restructured tasting program and updated its booking system. Visitors now choose from three fixed options, all of which include a guided walk through the house's Saint-Nicaise cellars and a seated tasting. At the higher end, pairings include older vintages and small plates from Michelin-starred chef Philippe Mille. (Advance reservations are strongly recommended.) Millions of bottles are stored in Taittinger's chalk cellars, some aging for years beneath the streets of Reims. Getty Images Wine tourism in Champagne has grown steadily in recent years, with regional visitation reaching approximately 162,000 people in 2024—more than twice the number recorded in 2016. The increase reflects both the area's UNESCO World Heritage designation and the broader appeal of Champagne as a destination. At Taittinger, however, the approach is shifting. Before the recent renovations, the house welcomed around 90,000 visitors annually. With the new tasting program and restaurant in place, the goal is to limit that number to no more than 60,000 per year, prioritizing quality and comfort over volume. Reims is about 90 minutes from Paris by car or under an hour by high-speed train. The city is the financial center of the Champagne region and home to some of its largest producers. Unlike smaller villages like Épernay or Hautvillers, Reims has a compact downtown and a robust tourism infrastructure. Taittinger's headquarters are located just outside the city center and are open to the public most days of the week. The house, still independently-owned and managed by members of the Taittinger family, oversees one of the largest vineyard holdings in Champagne. The vineyards themselves are not open to visitors, but the cellar tours provide a detailed look at production and aging. 'The soil and weather conditions here contribute to the signature style of Taittinger,' says Jean-Pierre Redont, VIP and hospitality ambassador for Champagne Taittinger. 'The chalky ground retains moisture while keeping the roots cool. The grapes ripen slowly, which helps preserve acidity and freshness.' François Taittinger expanded the house's cellars beneath the ruins of the Saint-Nicaise abbey after World War II, shaping the historic site into a cornerstone of the brand. AFP via Getty Images Guests descend several circular staircases into a network of chalk pits and galleries, parts of which date to the Gallo-Roman era. The caverns were later incorporated into a 13th-century Benedictine abbey, destroyed during the French Revolution but still visible in the architecture of the lower levels. More than 3 million bottles are stored in the cave cellars, with another 20 million stored at the estate outside Épernay and 8 million at another satellite site. The caves are dim and cool, with narrow passages that lead past aging bottles and carved stone walls. Some sections require stair access and may be difficult for those with limited mobility. Still, the space is one of the most distinctive in Reims, offering a rare glimpse into the layered architectural history of champagne production. 'Everything was done by hand back then: labeling, corking and packaging,' says Redont. 'It was an incredibly labor-intensive process.' Modern disgorgement techniques use freezing to remove the sediment. The neck of the bottle is frozen, and when opened, the pressure ejects the sediment plug cleanly. It's quick but requires precision. The bottles are dipped in an ice bath, then passed through a machine that removes the sediment and reseals them with a cork and wire cage. This final step is key to Champagne's clarity and stability. Once that's done, the bottles are cleaned, labeled and prepared for shipment. Each one is handled carefully to ensure the integrity of the wine inside. 'The entire champagne-making process is long and meticulous,' says Redont. 'Few wines in the world require this level of care, and that's why champagne is so unique.' Visitors descend nearly 60 feet into Taittinger's historic cellars, where Roman-era chalk pits and Gothic vaults trace centuries of Champagne history. AFP via Getty Images Above ground, the tasting rooms reflect a blend of design periods. One space is decorated in mid-century style, with sculptural lighting and pale furniture. Another is lined with medieval-style wall hangings and dark wood panels. The contrast is deliberate. Taittinger has long positioned itself at the intersection of tradition and experimentation, a philosophy made tangible through its art collaborations. 'You'll notice that our process respects tradition, but we also innovate,' says Redont. 'Champagne isn't just made. It evolves. The glass, the yeast, the time—it's all part of the experience.' On display are bottles from the Taittinger Collection, a limited-edition series that began in 1983 and has included designs by Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg and Sebastião Salgado. The works are no longer available for purchase but are kept on site as part of the brand's archive. Vitalie Taittinger, president of Champagne Taittinger, at the visitor center Reims in front of a wall with names of the house's distributors around the world. AFP via Getty Images The family has overseen operations since the early 20th century. Today, Vitalie Taittinger serves as president, and her brother, Clovis Taittinger, holds the position of managing director. Their decision to invest in expanded hospitality reflects a broader trend among producers in one of the world's most prestigious wine regions to offer more structured tasting visits, especially for travelers who base themselves in Reims rather than booking countryside tours. 'The work we do here is part of a larger tradition that has global influence,' says Redont. 'Some of the techniques and tools have changed over the past 20 years, but the essence of champagne making remains.'
Forbes
27-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Elegance By Design: How The Taittinger Family Craft Champagne
The chalk cellars under the town of Reims in Champagne, owned by Champagne Taittinger Jennifer Glick In Champagne, virtually every house claims to maintain the delicate balance between tradition and evolution. It's a well peddled cliché, but, ultimately that's the game - showcase your past without looking old, stuffy and out of touch. Spread you fizz around the world and pop up in all the right places. Champagne Taittinger too have it all figured out. Internationally aspirational with a presence in all the major markets, the house is revered for both its great value cuvées, and its prestigious Blanc de Blancs 'Comtes de Champagne' - one of the world's best sparkling wines. Family owned and protective of its traditions, the company thrives off nearly 300 years of winemaking history. There is far more to it than that of course. Underpinning the brand is a meticulous attention to detail, exemplified best through the art of blending. Taittinger's flagship Brut wine, 'La Française', is a carefully composed non-vintage blend (or should we say multi vintage?) drawn from three different grapes cultivated across more than 35 Cru vineyard sites. By contrast, 'Comtes de Champagne' is made exclusively from Chardonnay, but blended from the company's best sites. Together, they exemplify the precision and poise for which the house is known, a poise that can only be achieved through bending (vintages, grapes, vineyards), or what they call in Reims and Epernay, a ssemblage . Here, blending is not all pragmatic technique, it is the orchestration of site, variety, and time into a single coherent voice. At Taittinger that voice is guided by Chardonnay, the grape Vitalie Taittinger describes as 'the soul of our style - elegant, precise, and full of finesse.' Yet the region's other grapes play essential roles: Pinot Noir brings backbone and red-fruit complexity, while Pinot Meunier rounds out the blend with supple texture and aromatic lift. As Clovis Taittinger notes, 'We have always favored a Chardonnay-dominant style. It's a deliberate choice that reflects our view of what makes a Champagne elegant and age-worthy.' Each grape is selected for what it can contribute to the final balance, but the profile is always guided by the inherent belief in the superiority of Chardonnay. Vitalie Taittinger amongst the vines. David Picchiottino Vitalie and her brother Clovis Taittinger are the latest generation to lead the company. Established in 1734 as Champagne Forest-Fourneaux, the house was bought in 1932 by Pierre Taittinger, marking the beginning of the family's global reputation for elegant Champagnes. In 2005, the Taittinger Group, which at the time also included luxury hotels and other businesses, was sold to the U.S. investment firm Starwood Capital. Led by Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, the family initiated a project to reclaim control of the wine business. Within a year they succeeded and backed by the French bank Crédit Agricole, the family repurchased the Champagne house and its historic cellars, restoring Taittinger to family hands. Today the estate's holdings and grower relationships span the Côte des Blancs, Vallée de la Marne, and Montagne de Reims - each producing fruit with different characteristics. Villages like Chouilly bring ripe orchard fruit; Avize delivers mineral tension; Mesnil-sur-Oger contributes steely acidity and length. These are not generally interchangeable pieces, but essential components of a wider picture. With 288 hectares under vine, Taittinger is one of the largest domaine holders in Champagne. Yet, size alone means little without the technical understanding of how each site fits precisely into the puzzle. For the Brut La Française, fruit from more than 35 villages is selected to construct a wine of impressive consistency. More than six million bottles a year of this are released and consumers expect one bottle to taste the same as the next. How is that possible? Typically composed of 40% Chardonnay, 35% Pinot Noir, and 25% Meunier, the aim of this blend is balance: delicacy without brittleness, complexity without excess. As Alexandre Ponnavoy, Taittinger's Chef de Cave, notes, 'We taste hundreds of vins clairs each year to make sure each element, no matter how small, fits the whole.' Alexander Ponnovoy showcasing the 2014 vintage of Comtes de Champagne. Non Runner Media At the other end of the spectrum lies Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs, made exclusively from Chardonnay grown in five Grand Cru villages of the Côte des Blancs: Avize, Cramant, Chouilly, Oger, and Mesnil-sur-Oger. Here, the message of place is unfiltered. 'Each site gives a different energy' Ponnavoy says. 'Cramant is creamy and floral; Mesnil is sharp and saline; Chouilly adds generosity. We select only the fine first-press juice. Nothing else makes it into Comtes.' Taittinger's approach to the three classic Champagne grapes is architectural in nature. Chardonnay accounts for 37% of the estate's plantings and drives the house style across the range. Pinot Noir, mostly grown in the Montagne de Reims, contributes structure and spice. Meunier, sourced largely from the Vallée de la Marne, softens and expands the palate. Yet even in blends like Les Folies de la Marquetterie - produced from a single vineyard with a majority of Pinot Noir - the wine is constructed to ensure that Chardonnay's character subtly dominates. As Clovis Taittinger puts it, 'Each grape is selected for what it contributes to the final shape. Chardonnay gives lift and clarity. It's the line that defines our wines.' Red grapes harvested for Champagne Taittinger ANNEEMMANUELLE THION Champagne lovers will know, time is not just a measure of age, it's a key aspect of a wine's personality, and in the increasingly unpredictable climate of northern France, reserve wines are critical to achieving consistency in non-vintage blends like 'La Française'. With vintage variation inevitable, these older wines are used not to mask inconsistency, but to temper extremes. '2012 was warm and opulent,' recalls Vitalie Taittinger, 'so we balanced it with fresher reserves. 2013 was taut and we softened it with older material. The 2014, as you can see in the 'Comtes', was naturally poised and required no correction - just time to shine.' This delicate composition of vintages in the cellar is part of what makes a Champagne blend so complex and compelling. Inevitably, the conditions of the year will dictate what work needs to done. Vitalie emphasises her role is 'to guide the team in tasting and blending with rigor, ensuring nature's variations never overshadow the Taittinger signature. Consistency is our promise, delivered with patience and care.' With 'Comtes de Champagne' the blending approach is altogether different. Here, there are no reserves, and no commercial need to keep things prescribed. When the vintage is good enough, it will stand alone. 'We produce 'Comtes' only in exceptional years,' says Ponnavoy. 'It's not about crafting a house style, it's about capturing the essence of a single harvest.' Chardonnay is the Champagne Taittinger's key variety. Anne Emmanuelle Thion Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs is undoubtedly a purist's wine: 100% vintage specific, 100% Chardonnay, 100% first-press juice, 100% Grand Cru. Just 5% of the wine is matured for four months in new oak, a detail that adds gentle breadth without overpowering. Then comes the long quiet - over a decade in the family's Gallo-Roman chalk quarries located beneath the former Abbey of Saint-Nicaise in Reims. The eventual wine currently costs around $400 a bottle. The 2014 vintage, recently released, is a vivid expression of Taittinger's work. 'Comtes is a love letter to Chardonnay and time,' says Chef de Cave Alexandre Ponnavoy. 'It's a cuvée that doesn't impose, but reveals.' A warm summer and naturally balanced acidity made 2014 an exceptional year for Chardonnay, and Ponnavoy's meticulous selection process across the region ensures that only the best fruit from the five Grand Cru parcels contribute to the final wine. 'Each village gives its own character, but together they form something unmistakably Taittinger: pure, precise, and timeless' he says. They are clearly proud of their work, but to call Taittinger's approach to blending simply 'assembly' misses the point. Figuring out how to order the building blocks of Champagne is about listening - to the cues of the vintage, the voice of each vineyard, the evolution of the base wines in the cellar, and to a legacy that has evolved since 1734. 'Taittinger must reinvent itself and improve always,' says Vitalie. 'But above all, we must transmit heritage and respect for the past. We are guardians of this beautiful wine.' That balance between innovation and origin lingers somewhere in every cuvée. As Claude Taittinger, who took over from his brother Pierre in 1960 and spearheaded the company for decades, once reflected, 'We proceed bit by bit to elaborate a Champagne, of which is to resemble no other, simply itself.' Whether crafting the broad harmony of 'La Française' or the singular focus of 'Comtes de Champagne', Taittinger blends with purpose, mission and meaning. The result is Champagne that speaks not only of place, but of philosophy - a quiet tension between craft and expression, tradition and reinvention. And at the centre of it all is blending: equal parts art, discipline, and the patience to listen.
The Sun
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Countryfile star reveals UK's best hidden gems from stunning vineyards that beat France to the pretty secret beaches
MATT Baker has unearthed undiscovered gems on his journey around the British Isles. For his new TV series, Matt Baker's British Isles, the Countryfile star finds beautiful beaches on the Northern Irish coastline and reveals he's found tasty sparkling wine at a Champagne-worthy vineyard in Kent. 6 6 On his journey across the UK to see what makes the country tick, Matt heads to the Domaine Evremond vineyard. The Taittinger family, who own the vineyard, have teamed up with one of the world's most prestigious champagne houses to realise a dream of making the first true Anglo-French sparkling wine - and it worked. When Sun Travel asked Matt whether it tasted similar to Champagne he responded: "It's the same. The only reason you can't call it Champagne is because it's not grown in the Champagne region. "It's so good, I'd go as far as saying it was the most beautiful sparkling wine that I've ever tasted. "It has its roots, literally, in Britain, but it's got that taste that is so familiar with high-end sparkling wine, and it's grown right here in Kent." The reason Kent is renowned for its English vineyards is the climate and soil, which are well-suited for growing grapes that produce high-quality wine. Matt explained that Domaine Evremond has all the same qualities as vineyards in the Champagne region The vineyard produces a sparkling wine called Classic Cuvée, which is made in a blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier grapes. You can go to the vineyard yourself and book a tasting and follow in Matt's footsteps by taking a tour from just £25. During the four-episode series, Matt heads over to Wales, up to Scotland, but one of his most memorable stops was in Northern Ireland. Countryfile star bags brand new role worlds away from hit BBC farming series 6 Matt goes up to Northern Ireland's most northerly tip to meet the McKinley family, where for generations, they've run Sheans Horse Farm. It's based in the hills of North Antrim which has incredible views across the coastline. Matt told us: "Oh my gosh, the Antrim coast is just breathtaking. "The landscape is used for Game of Thrones now, that's filmed over there because the landscape is so jaw-dropping. "We went horse riding across the cliff tops. When you look down, you see all these beautiful little coves that you wouldn't even know were there." He added: "It's such a beautiful way to travel, on horseback, especially if you want to do a bit of nature spotting because all the wildlife comes out to see what's going on." 6 6 Stand-out beaches on the Antrim coast are the sandy shores of Benone Strand and Portrush's East and West Strands. There's also others, like White Park Bay and Ballycastle Beach. Another area of the Northern Irish coastline that Matt explores is Kilkeel Harbour where he met the country's only female harbourmaster - and enjoyed the landscape too. Matt said: "It's a big, beautiful, wonderful, welcoming community, and when I went it was a beautiful day. "We sat there sitting having fish and chips there and just being chatting with the locals - it was great." For anyone wanting to see parts of the British Isles they wouldn't usually get a look at, Matt has everyone covered. Wales, Northern Ireland, England. "We visit all of those nations throughout the episodes - we've amalgamated it all into the ultimate celebration of the British Isles." And the British Isle that gets summer weather before the mainland. Watch Matt Baker's British Isles on Tuesdays at 9pm on More4. 6
