Ruinart Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut

Tatler Champagne Guide 2024-2025

Grape Makeup:

100% Chardonnay

Sweetness Level:

Extra Brut

Ageing on Lees:

Eleven years

Price:

$$$$ (V)

Cellar:

Ten+ years

Category:

Collectible

What

The oldest continuously operated champagne maison, founded in 1729 and now the hidden gem of the LVMH stable. It is known for Blanc de Blancs made in a clean, fragrant style.

Where

Reims; 20ha estate vineyards; only Grand Cru vineyards are used for Dom Ruinart, in 2010 there was an unusually high percentage from the Côte des Blancs (90%: Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cramant, Chouilly, Avize) with the balance from the Montagne de Reims (Sillery, on the northern slopes).

Why

In contrast to the lean, gracile charm of its NV, Dom Ruinart shows off the full range of Chardonnay, with the Côte des Blancs providing the vertical and the Montagne de Reims the lateral. 2010 was difficult for Pinot Noir and Meunier, but produced some magnificent Chardonnay with high ripeness but also brilliant acidity. After 10+ years on lees under a cork closure and a few years post-disgorgement by hand in June 2022, this is a high-contrast tension bomb.

What Else

Ruinart recently debuted its renovated home, with a gleaming curved glass pavilion designed by architect Sou Fujimoto, known for his ultra-light and sometimes temporary structures, a fitting choice for the house’s ethereal style.

Tasting Notes

Intensely flinty, this has a spark plug, pencil-shaving sharpness amplified by tonic notes of quinine and gentian over rhubarb and green lime fruit. Very high contrast, this has a sharp-edged but mouth-filling quality, where the greenness of the flavours and the flinty energy resonate with each other, helping offset the lush midpalate breadth. Electric, with some tonic bitterness amplifying acidity that might otherwise be subsumed under the richness of flavour.

Try It With

Crispy Cantonese roast chicken

When To Drink

Apéritif or after dinner

Perfect For

Your mentor

TL/DR

Tense, sharp-edged but mouthfilling

Supplier

MHD