TAITTINGER, the flute Comtes de Champagne

Product of Lehmann's glassmaking know-how

In the arts of the table as well as in oenology, the wine glass has become an essential accessory whose intrinsic qualities can intensify the experience and pleasure of tasting. For the past thirty years, the French brand Lehmann has been giving it its full measure by creating innovative and refined shapes that magnify wines in general, and champagne in particular

The champagne starts a circular dance... One turn, two turns, maybe three... The bubbles get a bit crazy... It breathes... After the hand that, with a fluid and confident gesture, launched this graceful ballet, the nose approaches and collects the aromas that rise. Then the mouth touches the rim, the head tilts back slightly... That's it, the taster and the wine become more intimately acquainted. The glass has been the active instrument of this encounter. It was the glass that established contact and put everyone in the best possible position: its line, transparency and finesse sharpened the taster's sensory sensitivity, while its carefully studied structure allowed the wine to express itself fully.

The importance of detail

As a good servant, a glass must have all the qualities that make the difference between drinking and tasting. It is to adorn it with all these qualities - aesthetic, technical, functional - that the Lehmann company, established in the Champagne region for some thirty years and having made the tasting glass its great specialty, is constantly working. An intelligent and complex object, made to embrace the wine, to reveal it, to show it off, to honor it. In its design, every detail is important: the transparency of the lens, the length of the stem, the diameter of the goblet, the chimney-like constriction that concentrates and preserves the aromas... All the parts are brought together in a fair balance. To support and refine his approach, Lehmann very quickly introduced into his creative process recognized experts in the world of wine and gastronomy.

Lehmann glass collections designed by renowned ambassadors

The first Signature collection was created with Gérard Basset, a leading figure in sommellerie, who has won several world titles. It is a range of glasses of different shapes and sizes. This experience was then repeated with Philippe Jamesse, former head sommelier of the Domaine Les Crayères in Reims, then Arnaud Lallement, three-starred chef of the Assiette Champenoise, and finally Fabrice Sommier, best sommelier in France, each with his own interpretation of the exercise and bringing his own history, style and experience. The result is four highly nuanced collections, adapted to the tasting of wines in their diversity

The Ultralight lens revolution

In line with these prestigious and fruitful collaborations, Lehmann has continued its path to excellence. After two years of research andamp; development, the brand launched Ultralight in March 2021, an innovative process that further pushes the limits of thinness and lightness. " Ultralight reduces the thickness of the glass by about 30% and its weight by 30% compared to standard mouth-blown or machine-blown versions," says Clémence Roche, marketing manager. It allows for easier, smoother and more controlled rotation of the wine in the gob. The extreme finesse of its mouthpiece makes you forget the glass in your mouth. It perfectly embodies Lehmann's promise: to sublimate tasting moments

Tasting glasses inspired by the DNA of Comtes de Champagne

Thanks to its geographical proximity and its high-end positioning, Lehmann has a close relationship with the world of champagne. Thanks to their oenological performance and elegance, their glasses are ideally suited to this wine, reflecting its values and optimizing the effervescence mechanism. Trusting this local maker, the house Taittinger asked it at the end of 2020 to create an iconic glass to match its " Comtes de Champagne " vintage. Led by Alexis Franzin, Key Account andamp; Development Manager, the team of designers and marketers went into project mode. we started with a blank page," reports Clémence Roche, " and proceeded step by step to try to transcribe both the DNA of the brand Taittinger and the DNA of its prestige cuvée."

A champagne flute to highlight the chardonnay

A workshop was proposed to the company Taittinger, consisting of testing and scoring six glasses from the Lehmann collections, according to different criteria: aesthetic approach (empty and full glass), bubble behavior, olfactory approach, gustative approach. Glass n°4 from the Arnaud Lallement collection - one of the company's two best-sellers - came out on top in this test, mainly because of its organoleptic qualities. " It is logical because it was designed to highlight wines with a dominant Chardonnay, which is the case of Comtes de Champagne Using this as a base, the team redesigned the silhouette of the glass to make it more identity, more majestic and in line with the client's paradoxical expectations.

A compromise to be found

it was a real challenge," confirms Matthieu Bouatta, Lehmann's Chairman and CEO, " because within the management team Taittinger, there were two lines: one defended the Champagne tradition and wanted to keep the spirit of a flute; the other pushed for innovation and leaned towards a shape closer to a wine glass, more in tune with the times. We had to find the best possible compromise This millimetric work resulted in four new profiles, 3D printed. The two most convincing were made in Ultralight mouth-blown glass in a partner factory and passed the ultimate test of tasting in real conditions. Only one remained, very slender and elegant, with a large capacity (40 cl) and a deep piqué* that contributes to the aesthetics of the effervescence.

Technical operation

This glass, in which Comtes de Champagne unfolds all its aromatic complexity, represents a great step forward for Lehmann: the first custom project designed from A to Z for a client; the first time the leg reaches such a height (255 mm); the first model of the new generation of Ultralights. In May 2022, a new technical feat further enhanced the company's image: the translation of its mouth-blown Ultralight into a machine-blown Ultralight, with a final rendering that is very similar, especially in terms of the piqué effect that is the signature of a champagne glass... and the most delicate point to achieve.

Tasting glasses of excellence

the result is superb and promising, " says Matthieu Bouatta. Knowing that the job of master glassmaker is particularly difficult and that it takes six to make a single glass, mouth-blown glass will eventually become a niche product. Faced with this evolution, Ultralight is for us the solution. This innovative technology has already propelled the company's reputation. We are betting heavily on its mechanical version for the future In the wake of champagne, which, with its prestige vintages, is driving the market upwards, glassware is also becoming more premium, driven by designers such as Lehmann, who are aiming for the ultimate

* A kind of V located between the leg and the bottom of the gob which favors the effervescence