The rosé prestige cuvée of Champagne Ruinart, Dom Ruinart Rosé is a Grand Cru only blend of Dom Ruinart Chardonnay topped off with 15-20% red wine from the Montagne de Reims. Since the first vintage in 1966, this cuvée is consistently ranked amongst the greatest rosés on the market and this 2002 expression is one of the absolute best. The Pinot Noir red wine is sourced from the Grand Cru villages of Sillery and Verzenay and macerated on the skins for nine days before pressing, extracting the pink colour and soft fruit tannins. Blending this red wine into the assemblage gives a rosé with a vibrant, deep coral colour.

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.

Technical Information:
Vineyards: 100% Grand Cru | Chardonnay: 72% Côte des Blancs: Avize, Cramant, Le Mesnil-sur-Oger | 28% Montagne de Reims: Puisieulx, Sillery | Pinot Noir: Sillery, Verzenay
Grape Varieties: 80% Chardonnay, 20% Pinot Noir | inc. 20% Red Wine
Ageing: 9 years on the lees
Dosage: 5.5 g/l
Drink: Now to 2032

Tasting Note: Aromas of red berries and citrus. The palate has an abundcanc eof cherries and more citrus fruits with plenty of ripe fruits throughout. Mandarin and blood oranges, with a dry and savoury finish. A superb Rosé.

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