Elegance And Expression - R de Ruinart Brut Non-Vintage

I am having a love affair with Ruinart right now. Over the past two weeks I have sipped, enjoyed and learned about their R de Ruinart Brut Non-Vintage and their Ruinart Brut Rosé Non-Vintage. Every taste, every smell has been a wonderful experience.

It's been my first foray into the world of Ruinart, brought on by preparation plans for our trip to Champagne in September this year. Our trip includes a tasting at Ruinart. At 140 Euros, it doesn't come cheap; but I did my research and France's oldest champagne house seems like one not to miss.

Ruinart produces an incredibly expressive style of champagne; so in researching for my blog this week I wanted to understand why it is so aromatic and floral on the nose and why the flavours are so fresh and intense.

The finesse, elegance, and minerality of chardonnay is the golden thread that runs through all of their cuvées. And whilst the R de Ruinart Brut Non-Vintage and Ruinart Brut Rosé Non-Vintage are not dominated by chardonnay in the blend, the chardonnay is carefully used to restrain the berry forward flavours of pinot noir.

 

Which brings me to my next point; Ruinart’s cuvées are very well balanced. There is a truly wonderful and clever act happening in the background between all elements of the champagne; no one element dominates another. It’s more of a happy, complementary and exciting marriage.

Balance is further achieved by carefully managing the astringency of chardonnay through full malolactic fermentation and the addition of ample quantities of reserve wine.

With all this said, much of their house style has more to do with their deliberately reductive approach to champagne making; meaning they choose to guard heavily against oxygen entering the cuvée at any stage in the production process.

There is a fantastic article by Chris Kissack, the 'Wine Doctor', that describes the difference between reductive style and oxidized style champagnes. Chris describes it very well - as ‘grey’ versus ‘brown’ champagne. ‘Grey’ (or reductive) styles are characterised by ‘cleaner, more precise set of aromatics, taking in floral elements, fresh and crisp fruit characteristics, smoke and more.’ And ‘brown’ (or oxidized) style champagnes are characterised by aromas and flavours of ‘nuts, coffee, caramel and more.’

Ruinart is passionate about locking out all effects of oxidation. This starts with using a pneumatic press as opposed to a traditional champagne press, minimising the contact with oxygen. Oxygen has also been kept at bay through prolonging the cuvée’s time on lees during second fermentation in the bottle before disgorgement. For the R de Ruinart Brut Non-Vintage, this period of time is three years. Of course this prolonged time also adds complexity to the final product.

I am so glad that I will be touring Ruinart in the coming months. This understated and largely unknown (at least in Australia) champagne house is one that punches well above its weight. Sitting quietly and unassumingly behind a plain fence and behind streets lined with the world’s most glamorous champagne houses, it is undoubtedly one of the region’s best kept secrets.

My tasting notes for R de Ruinart’s Brut Non-Vintage follows.

House style – The best of chardonnay! Fresh, elegant, finesse and expressive.

Blend – 57% pinot noir, 40% chardonnay and 3% pinot meunier.

Glass - Very pale lemon with a fine bead.

Nose - This is a highly aromatic champagne, characterised by a beautiful floral perfume.

Palate - Berry-driven with hints of honey, floral notes emerge. Every part of the palate is engaged with these highly aromatic and expressive flavours. It opens out half way with crisp yellow apple acidity and draws the flavour down the back of the palate for a long finish. It is medium to full-bodied, rich, fresh and vibrant. As the acidity subsides, flavours of baked bread and toasted brioche emerge. As I wait longer I notice soft fleshy pear. It's rich through every element of the tasting and mouth-filling, leaving a light silky texture. Sensual and so delicious.

Verdict – 94 / 100.

Further reading - Surprisingly, I found it difficult to source information about this wonderful champagne house. You can access the Ruinart website here, although it contains limited information.  There is a good overview of the champagne pressing process here including information on the pneumatic press. See the Wine Doctor's website for a brief history of the house.

Where to buy - I purchased this from John Swanson at Melbourne Street Cellars in Adelaide - I think he was even more excited than me when I brought it to the counter. Online, try Wine Star.