Imai
⏳ wine.drinking_window
Typically best enjoyed 10–25 years from the vintage release, though well-stored bottles of this historic 1988 release continue to show remarkable complexity.
🍽️ wine.food_pairings
Pan-seared scallops, roasted turbot with butter sauce, aged Comté cheese
✨ wine.spec_sheet
The Taittinger Collection was conceived in the late 1970s by Claude Taittinger to marry the worlds of fine art and exceptional Champagne. For the 1988 vintage, the house commissioned the celebrated Japanese artist Toshimitsu Imai, a pioneer of the Art Informel movement. Imai's design, applied directly to the bottle, draws inspiration from the traditional Japanese Rimpa school, featuring delicate golden leaves and cherry blossoms that symbolize the ephemeral beauty of nature. Inside the bottle is a masterfully crafted Brut Millésimé, sourced from Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards. It represents a harmonious blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, aged for several years in Taittinger's historic Gallo-Roman chalk cellars to achieve a perfect balance of freshness, complexity, and creamy texture.
🍾 wine.about_producer
Established in 1932 when Pierre Taittinger acquired the historic Forest-Fourneaux house founded in 1734, Champagne Taittinger is one of the few remaining family-owned and operated Champagne houses based in Reims, France. The house is celebrated for its extensive Gallo-Roman chalk cellars, known as crayères, which provide the perfect aging conditions for their elegant, Chardonnay-dominant cuvées. Taittinger's signature style is defined by lightness, finesse, and mineral precision, epitomized by their legendary prestige cuvée, Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs, alongside their classic Brut Réserve and the artistic Taittinger Collection.