In the post-Covid years, the Champagne region has undeniably increased its embrace of visitors. Among the flurry of houses offering new and improved tourism experiences is Taittinger, a grande marque that has long ushered in Champagne lovers to its remarkable crayères – its underground UNESCO-listed Saint-Nicaise cellars have been open to the public since the 1980s, and in existence since the third century. However, a recently rebooted Taittinger cellar tour programme is clearly courting a different kind of audience now flooding the region: foodies.
Above ground, the renovated premises have undergone an 18-month revamp to reveal a series of light-filled salon spaces decorated in neutral tones that allow photography on the walls and designer furniture to truly pop. They now act as home to a trio of small group tastings, including an ‘Instant Gourmet’ food-pairing tour. A new restaurant named Polychrome is also set to launch on-site next month to complete the lure for food-loving fizz fans.
The new tour packages and overhauled premises are among the first visible flourishes from Vitalie Taittinger as president, a role she took on in 2020 as the fourth generation of the Taittinger family at the helm. ‘Saint-Nicaise is the heart of the house,’ says Vitalie. ‘When my father gave me presidency, it was important to think of the future and put the light at the centre of the house.’
The new visitor experiences, explains Vitalie, are focused on what they consider to be the house’s specialties. Art is one of these facets, stemming from the late Claude Taittinger’s passion for culture and his ‘artistic eye’. A Lichtenstein portrait hangs proudly on reception, while a display of artist-designed limited-edition bottles released over the years as part of the Taittinger Collection, first established by Claude, greets you on the first floor, both aspects bookending a tour of the cellars.
And then there’s gastronomy: for almost 60 years, Taittinger has been awarding emerging cheffing talent with its annual International Culinary Prize. As such, the team knew that ‘gastronomy must have a place in this new experience,’ says Vitalie.
The Instant Gourmet tour sees Champagne paired with a series of bites devised by local chef Philippe Mille. Carried out in a dedicated lounge with capacity for just 14 guests, the hope is that intimacy encourages an exchange of ideas and discussions around each pairing. Five delicate canapé-style dishes spanning savoury and sweet are presented on one platter per person for sampling alongside 2016 Brut Millésimé and prestige rosé Champagnes. Although specific Champagne pairings are outlined per dish, the experience team advises us to play around with combinations, with ‘pleasure and happiness’ the desired outcome.
One standout snack is a maroon-hued morsel of duck and cherry served on a presentational silver spoon, whose fruity acidity meets its match in the Brut Millésimé, and which in turn amplifies the red fruit notes of the fizz. Meanwhile, this expression’s toastier and more citrussy notes are brought to the fore when matched with a curious almond and courgette cream. Each dish is playful in its own way, in particular the ‘candy caviar’, a plum cheesecake served in a caviar tin and topped with beads of tapioca that present like the coveted fish roe.
As for Polychrome, the restaurant is described as a ‘blending table’. Rather than bringing in one permanent chef, the concept sees chefs on a one-year rotation, allowing Taittinger the chance to champion emerging culinary talents. For launch, Charles Coulombeau takes the helm, the chef behind one-Michelin-starred La Maison dans le Parc in Nancy and a former winner of Taittinger’s Prix International de Cuisine d’auteur. Each dish on a menu set to shift with the four seasons will be designed to pair with the house’s Champagnes, and the restaurant is now taking bookings for lunch from June 14. ‘There will be something to surprise, learn, explore’, says Vitalie of the restaurant concept.
Each of the new tasting experiences begins with a guided tour in the depths of the cellar, and for those yet to visit the celebrated house’s Reims premises, this remains the highlight of the trip. Eighteen metres below ground and 3km long, the atmospheric Saint-Nicaise cellars, former Gallo-Roman chalk quarries, take their name from the bishop of Reims who was massacred by barbarians in the fifth century. An abbey was erected here on his burial site by the Benedictine monks in 1229 and, following the French Revolution, it was transformed into a stone quarry before its demolition in the 1800s – but the tunnels and crypts of Saint-Nicaise have remained intact throughout, and in 2015 they became a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The region’s underground history is rich enough, but the Taittinger crayères tell their own stories too, from the gothic arched doorways recovered from the abbey to the remnants of graffiti etched into the walls by French soldiers who took up shelter here during WWI. Since Taittinger’s acquisition, these sacred vaults have been used for the slow development of the house’s prestige cuvées, including its cherished Comtes de Champagne wines, resting here for a period of 10 years – the results of which can also be savoured as part of the new ‘Instant Comtes’ tour, back above ground.
While the darkened caves, with their history as layered as a lees-aged wine, continue to shine most brightly, these new additions to Taittinger’s visitor centre add another dimension for modern-day visitors and a playful pitstop for the increasing number of travelling gourmands attracted to the region.
Instant Gourmet tours at Champagne Taittinger cost 80 euros per person. Polychrome opens on June 14 and is now taking bookings online.
