The prestige cuvée of Champagne Ruinart, Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs is a Grand Cru only, pure-Chardonnay blend. With grapes sourced predominantly from the Côte des Blancs, this cuvée is a firm and muscular champagne with a reductive style that rewards patience if left in the cellar. The 2004 expression is much more restrained that its predecessors, with good balancing acidity and the lowest dosage yet. This lower dosage is all part of protecting the character and delicacy of the vintage by helping to inhibit oxidation.

Weather: The 2004 vintage saw an initial winter of mild temperatures with intermittent storms and hail. The spring and summer months were hot and sunny and the sugar levels late in September produced good quality fruits, especially for the Pinot Noir grapes. A huge harvest in general for the region. Overall many experts believe that 2004 is one of the greatest vintages of the last two decades, with the champagnes showing great minerality and purity.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand Cru | 69% Côte des Blancs: Avize, Chouilly, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger | 31% Montagne de Reims: Puisieulx, Sillery
Grape Varieties: 100% Chardonnay
Ageing: 10 years on the lees
Dosage: 5.5 g/l
Drink: Now to 2036

Tasting Note: A luminous yellow with pale green reflections. The nose reveals gentle notes of chestnut, coconut and fresh bread. In the mouth there is a citrus fruit freshness and a delicate mousse with real, long lingering flavours that you'd expect from such a great champagne. Very accessible now in its youth, this is sure to evolve in complexity with time.

Although not the oldest wine estate in the region, Ruinart holds the title of the oldest established Champagne House. Dom Thierry Ruinart, friend and confidant of Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon, foretold that the new "wine with bubbles" being developed in his native region of Champagne was destined for a bright future and encouraged his nephew Nicolas Ruinart to enter the trade. When Louis XV declared that champagne could henceforth be sold in bottles instead of barrels, Nicolas heeded his uncle's advice and founded Champagne Ruinart in 1729.

Famed for their affinity for the white-grape variety, Chardonnay dominates the blend in all of Ruinart's finest cuvées, even their prestige rosé. Favouring the reductive style, they use a pneumatic press to guard the juice against oxidation and deploy nitrogen gas to protect the wine at every production stage. They are also adverse to oak and vinify all of their wines in stainless-steel tanks. Cosmopolitan and savvy, Ruinart produce approachable, muscular and vinous champagnes that deserve recognition beyond the trade industry within which they are currently most well-known.

The longest-established Champagne house of all, Ruinart has an affinity with chardonnay's freshness, finesse and elegance and all of its finest cuvées lead with this variety, even its prestige rosé. ""We hate oxygen!"" declares Frederic Panaïotis, Chef de Cave; Ruinart use a pneumatic press to guard the juice against oxidation and nitrogen gas to protect the wine at every production stage. They are also adverse to oak; vinification only takes place in stainless steel. This meticulous attention to detail along with the distinctive rounded bottles, give Ruinart its well-deserved reputation. Ruinart's Crayeres were dug by hand - the deepest measuring 38 meters in height beneath the vault - and their numerous tunnels criss-cross over a length of more than eight kilometres.

Cellar Master: Frédéric Panaïotis
Winery Location: Reims | Champagne, France
Champagne Region: Montagne de Reims
Annual Production (bottles): Undisclosed