TASTING Restaurant Paul Bocuse, Lyon, February 23, 2023


R de Ruinart 2016 (48% C, 32% PN, 20% PM; dosage 5g/l; disgorged July 7, 2022)


This wine has not yet been released. It is worth remembering that the R de Ruinart Millésimé is reserved for the French market, which still makes up 50 percent of Ruinart’s sales, higher than the other deluxe houses within LVMH. The midsummer heatwave (temperatures


above 104°F [40°C] at one point in July, then drought) has informed but not dictated the style of this wine. Gastronomic, for sure, with an almost tannic mid-palate this is powerful yet subtly so, with a smoky, gently yeasty backdrop to the core of agrumes and yellow fruit. | 94


R de Ruinart 2015 (44% C, 44% PN, 12% PM; dosage 6g/l)


impressively high, even though they had not been kept in sealed cases. La Maison Bocuse generously gifted the bottles to Frédéric Panaïotis, Ruinart’s chef de cave—all but four, that is, three to be kept in Lyon and one to be tried by a privileged coterie of assembled journalists and sommeliers chez Bocuse. Frédéric is delighted with this generous bequest, and the 14 bottles are now the most senior to be stored at La Maison Ruinart in Reims, the previous oldest discovered in Alsace and dating from 1929. The 14 bottles will take pride of place in a new oenothèque cellar that Ruinart is planning to open over the next 12 months or so. The rigors of World War II and the depredations of Occupation (cases were raided at whim by Reims’s thirsty Wein Führer) meant that in 1945 Ruinart had stocks of fewer than 10,000 bottles, none of any age. A discovery such as this is all the more special, therefore. Panaïotis has also unearthed the cellar books of the Ruinart chef de cave at the time, Maurice Hazart, who had held the position since 1911. 1926 was embedded in an era when tradition in Champagne was continually challenged, the prewar riots not too far behind them, and the codifications that formalized things such as the échelle des crus and the regional delimitations still to come. And then, of course, another world war, which threw everything into disarray once again.


Opposite: Frédéric Panaïotis and Restaurant Paul Bocuse director Vincent Leroux. Above: Panaïotis and the 1926 Ruinart Carte Anglaise.


A challenging year, pace Fred, marked by both extreme dryness early to mid-season and then extensive rainfall toward the end of August. A distinctive spicy note takes us beyond the initial allure of guava and nectarine; cardamom, fennel, and even aniseed are all noted, complexity suitably underscored. Broader-shouldered than the 2016, Pinot Noir to the fore. | 92


R de Ruinart 2010 (magnum) (55% C, 45% PN; dosage 5.5g/l)


Toasty, ripe, and generous, child of what Fred describes as “noble reduction” (the contrast between toasty notes engendered thus, and a more overt “oaky” texture is writ large when we try it next to the Faiveley’s 2017 Meursault). 2010 was a strong year for Chardonnay, and the fruit is suitably pure and expansive, pear and ripe apple standing out, with hints of apricot behind and, further back still, hazelnut and tobacco leaf. | 93


R de Ruinart 2009 (magnum) (51% PN, 49% C; dosage 5.5g/l)


Fred does not like the widely used descriptor solaire for 2009; the year was dry more than anything else, he reminds us. Be that as it may, the wine is weighty, rich, and ripe. Praline, dried fruit, and hazelnut underwrite the impressive finish after imposing but not overbearing mid-palate weight. | 93


R de Ruinart 1995 (magnum) (48% C, 52% PN; disgorged 1999; dosage 5.5g/l)


Fred compares the warm summer to those of 1976 and 1983 (none as “extreme” as 2003 or 2018), and we are served from an old-style magnum; the now-ubiquitous bulbous-shaped bottle was only (re)introduced after 2004. A deep Spanish gold signals a change of register; this is confirmed by a nose of tarte tatin, quince, and—Fred looks at me (the only Englishman in the room) and says—“shortbread.” Yes, shortbread—spot on! Hints of mushroom and white tobacco, too, and a seductively soft finish. Absolutely singing now and a must for those of us who like a savory style of mature Champagne. | 95


THE WORLD OF FINE WINE | ISSUE 79 | 2023 | 89


Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 2007 (magnum) (100% C; dosage 4.5g/l)


Served with a suitably whimsical selection of amuse-bouches (oysters and Roquefort are not without their challenges), the 2007 is itself spicy, resourceful, and long. Gingerbread and aniseed flourishes beyond rapier-like acidity and a confident orchard-fruit core. | 93


Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 2010 (100% C; dosage 4.5g/l)


The current release, the 27th since 1959, aged on cork. Such a delicate filigree, but then symphonic power; Burgundian resonance and purity of texture. Unfazed by the lobster and zander quenelles, yet another Bocuse signature dish. The new tirage regime (cork rather than crown cap) is the most important of Fred’s tenure thus far; he joined in 2007. He compares the wine to a Corton-Charlemagne. | 94


Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 1993 (magnum) (100% C)


A magnificent magnum of Chardonnay, the year in question cool and classic, so maybe a little like 2013 or 1988. An instructive comparison with the more savory and evolved 1995 R de Ruinart tasted a little earlier. More purity and restraint here, dried fruit and a chalky, softly spicy backdrop, but no lack of mid-palate generosity. | 96


Ruinart 1926 Carte Anglaise


Vinifed in wood and aged on the lees under cork (the best practices are cyclical, it seems), and probably disgorged relatively soon afterward. The 36-month aging rule had yet to be introduced, and many wines would have followed market demand, so this may well have been disgorged a mere two years after being laid down. 1929 was to be Ruinart’s bicentenary. The cork is impressively robust (if somewhat silent on release), ditto the wine, from its soft amber/brown color, to the nose of dried apricot, brown-sugar marmalade, and nutmeg. The acidity certainly preserves the spirit… then mushroom, dried fruit, oranges and plum. Finally, a whisper of Cognac and tobacco. A vin de contemplation, just shy of centurion status but far from reticent in other respects. Well worth the detour! | 95


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