TAITTINGER
CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE
Let's be honest: there's a reason Champagne’s most renowned maisons remain at the top. They have access to the best fruit, the largest libraries of back vintages, and the handed-down wisdom from several centuries of uninterrupted winemaking. Case in point: Taittinger's 96-point Prelude Grands Crus and 94-point Les Folies de la Marquetterie, which we’re able to bring you today for a remarkable $110 per bottle … a comparative value, we think, when placed alongside equivalent-scoring wines from Bordeaux or Burgundy.
The critics were all over these celestial cuvées.
Reviewing the Prelude, Decanter praised its “lovely interplay of Pinot richness and Chardonnay slinkiness,” calling it a Champagne of "depth, svelteness and elegance. ... Gorgeous.” The Wine Advocate was just as charmed by the Les Folies, a “full-bodied, vinous and fleshy” Champagne with "an enveloping core of fruit, racy acids and a pillowy pinpoint mousse … a gourmand, concentrated wine with the substance to evolve with grace in the cellar.” Jeb Dunnuck concurred, calling it “silky” and “luxurious," with "a fluffy mousse and a clean, savory finish.”
Both bottles showed beautifully at our recent tasting, reminding us yet again of the uncompromising high standards, precision of execution, and sensitivity to expression that have marked this house from the beginning.
The Prelude is a grand showcase of exquisite Grand Cru fruit, and the Pinot-Chardonnay interplay makes for a Champagne that straddles the line between depth and elegance, muscularity and finesse.
Les Folies brings more immediate gratification with its almost savory character and pillowy mousse, but beneath all that pleasure is a finely-etched wine with a distinct and supple structure.
What makes this edition of Les Folies particularly interesting is its significant proportion (55%) of Pinot Noir, sourced entirely from Premier Cru Pierry, which surrounds the Château de la Marquetterie. This flinty limestone soil imparts tremendous stony character and depth, and is exceedingly rare to find in a Champagne. The fact that a Chardonnay-focused house like Taittinger thought to incorporate it into this cuvée speaks, we think, to its extraordinary nimbleness as a house.
A house, we should add, that steadfastly refuses to be a period piece, though it is moving closer to celebrating its 300th anniversary. That's almost three centuries of continuous refinement, of building libraries of reserve wines, of deepening relationships with the finest Grand Cru vineyards.
You simply can't replicate that overnight, no matter how passionate your terroir commitment.
Secure your bottles and cases today!
*Offer NOT valid in-store. This offer is made pre-arrival, with wines estimated to be delivered to your preferred store in Spring 2026. With the supply chain issues that we are seeing globally, there may be some unforeseen delays which could affect the ETA. All sale prices are the lowest available at Total Wine & More and ONLY valid through Concierge Sales. No further discounts or coupons may be applied. Offer not valid in CT, IN, KS, KY, LA, MI, MO, NE, NY, OK & TN. This offer will expire on Sunday, February 1st, 2026.