The Making of Taittinger's Folies de la Marquetterie

Taittinger is one of Champagne's best known brands, but you would be forgiven for not recognising their Folies de la Marquetterie. This relatively unknown artisanal champagne may have a small production but is big in heart. Sara Underdown gets a special insight into the making of the Taittinger family's remarkable epochal champagne.

Taittinger’s Folies de la Marquetterie is a bit of an anomaly in the world of champagne. If you’ve ever seen it, let alone tried it, you’d be one of the very few. It accounts for less than two percent of Taittinger’s total production and is made in a style that you simply wouldn’t be able to pick as belonging to the Maison in a blind tasting.

It’s an unusual champagne for Taittinger, an artisanal non-vintage, which chef de caves Alexandre Ponnavoy says is least typical of their style but is ‘exciting’ for them to produce.

Once upon a time it was the only terroir-specific wine in the range. Fruit was sourced exclusively from around Taittinger’s Château in Pierry, where there are seven hectares of vines, so the wine carries a lot of sentiment for the Taittinger family because of its historical connection to the Château. 'Everything started at the castle,’ says Taittinger’s President, and family member, Vitalie Taittinger.

Vitalie admits that the terroir was not the best, which has inspired some changes, drawing on other Taittinger-owned vineyards to improve quality and complexity.

“It was a bit frustrating for us,” she says of her father, patriarch Pierre-Emmanuel, who loved the wine as a mono-cru; an epochal champagne deeply connected to the family. “But we wanted to create something more elegant and accurate…more about food as well.”

Tasting

Folies de la Marquetterie Through the Years

Folies de la Marquetterie is a beautifully textured and creamy champagne, displaying depth and breadth, and ideal for gastronomy with its spicy richness and just a touch of sweetness from oak. You can expect aromas like sourdough, cooked apples and juicy stonefruit to get your palate salivating.

The first Folies came from a base of 2000 which made its way to market in 2006. I tasted three iterations of the champagne, each representing a new chapter in its evolution.

Folies de la Marquetterie (2018 base) – Very fresh patisserie like character. In 2018 ripeness was pushed far resulting in more complexity but with great freshness from Trepail, adding structure to the roundness.

Folies de la Marquetterie (2014 base) – 2013 marked a step-change, adding more terroir into the blend. 2014 shows greater complexity from age but brighter than 2007.

Folies de la Marquetterie (2007 base) – Heralding from the original ‘mono cru’ days from the Folies vineyard in Pierry around Taittinger’s Château. I enjoyed this wine for its figgy character which has otherwise no clear signs of aging. ‘Oak helps with aging and to maintain the style across the years,’ says Alexandre Ponnavoy.

Photography supplied by Taittinger and taken by Sara Underdown