Taittinger Comtes De Champagne Rosé – An Underestimated Potential

Taittinger Comtes De Champagne Rosé – An Underestimated Potential

Champagne Taittinger is among the absolute oldest houses in Champagne, and while the history is long and rich, the production is nevertheless among Champagne's more exclusive, when we talk about the top Champagnes. 

Despite a great and prestigious brand, Taittinger, and in particular their prestige cuvée, Comtes de Champagne, seem somehow to be underestimated. In terms of quality, it surpasses both Dom Pérignon and Cristal according to the major critics, while the price is generally remarkably low – something we reported on in February when the 2008 Comtes de Champagne was finally released. 

Taittinger also produces a highly acclaimed rosé edition of the prestige cuvée, Comtes de Champagne. The Taittinger brand is by no means going unnoticed, and rosé Champagne is also outperforming the main 'Champagne' category with both interest and prices on the rise. Once again, this is an argument for looking in the direction of the sparkling pink drops. 

Triple-Digit Growth Rates For Rosé Champagne

If we look towards rosé Champagne, the history is even better. According to Liv-ex, rosé Champagne outperforms the parent index, Champagne 50, and the trade by value is even three times higher than the average over the past three years. Following on from this, up to triple-digit growth rates have been seen among some rosé Champagnes – including the 2005 Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé.  

In addition, Taittinger is by no means a name that goes unnoticed on the Champagne market. In a Liv-ex report from late July this year, Dom Pérignon and Salon are linked to the Champagne 50 index's strong growth, while Taittinger's Comtes de Champagne comes just a few percentage points behind the high performers. 

This all points to the fact that rosé Champagne as a category may be on the rise, while there are clear signs of increasing interest in the category. Taittinger as a producer is even one of the trendsetters. 

The Volume Of Production

It is estimated that Taittinger annually produces about five million bottles. Of the five million, it is estimated that only 150,000-300,000 of these bottles are Comtes de Champagne, the prestige cuvée. It is therefore considered one of the more exclusive prestige cuvées in Champagne. Especially when compared to Dom Pérignon with an annual production of around six million bottles. 

Add to this that the production of the rosé Champagne from Taittinger Comtes de Champagne is even more limited. 

Why Invest In Rosé?

Investing in the top of rosè Champagne gives you many of the same strong characteristics as regular Champagne, but that's actually not what's most interesting about rosè Champagne. 

More than 80% of the global sparkling wine production in 2017 was white, while only 15 % was rosé. Around 2 % was sparkling red wine. The world's largest producer of sparkling wine was, and today still is, Italy. This means that once the share of Italian and the other French sparkling rosé wines is subtracted, the total production of rosè Champagne is estimated to be extremely limited. 

This means that although current consumption is also lower on rosé, significantly fewer bottles need to be drunk to lower the global supply in terms of percentages. As a result, mature rosé Champagne is now also extremely hard to obtain and is an obvious investment, if you are looking for the exclusive and rare. 

Prices Of Older Vintages

A comparison with the prices of other vintages can help to illustrate the potential of the 2007 vintage. The 2004 vintage, with an average score of 94.67, is the closest to the 2007 vintage, which with its 95.3 points currently tops the critics' list. A search on Wine-searcher.com shows that there is a minimal supply of the 2004 vintage, with an average price of € 184. 

The 1996 vintage was a huge and famous vintage in Champagne. In comparison with the 2007 vintage, the 1996 vintage received an average score of 93.5, and the supply of this, according to Wine-searcher.com, is very limited. Even at an average price of € 552. Now, you can get your hands on the 2007 vintage for just € 120 a bottle, and compared to the current price of the 1996 vintage, this suggests that a significant price increase is in store. 

RareWine Invest's Opinion

There are many indications that the 2007 vintage Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé is extremely suitable for investment. In addition to receiving the highest ratings so far from the major critics (probably only surpassed by the not yet rated 2008 vintage), the growth rates of the Taittinger Rosé Champagne are also an excellent argument for investment with potential. Add to this the fact that high expected scores of the 2008 vintage may cause previous vintages to increase further in value.  

In addition, the prices of older vintages are more than clear evidence of this. The coveted 1996 vintage currently costs € 552 a bottle, which is a whopping price in itself. The 2007 vintage gets higher ratings, so the argument for making an investment almost writes itself. 

We believe that the rosé Champagne as a category, Taittinger as a recognized producer, a limited production, and limited availability of the older, acclaimed vintages are the recipe for a good investment. Especially considering that the 2007 vintage is currently available at a particularly attractive price.