nouveau / liquid assets / preview / review


On the broader stage, 1926 saw the French bombardment of Damascus after the Dreuze riots, the general strike in England, and the exploits of Al Capone in Chicago. The birth of Paul Bocuse had a creative counterbalance with the deaths of Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo, and Claude Monet. Great artists, one and all.


Relief redoubled


Although the vintage itself may not be of the caliber of 1928 and, especially, 1921, 1926 was deemed to be a good year, with plenty of sunshine and rainfall at opportune moments. Hazart wrote at the time, “The wines from 1926 are elegant but not very full-bodied. They are good without being exceptional. They are not a 1911 or 1921, but they are at least as good as 1923.” Such modesty! The vines, ravaged by both phylloxera and world war, were probably young and relatively unproductive. One is invited to speculate on the blend, which was probably not too far from today’s wine, but without Meunier. Technical analysis of a sample taken from an open bottle has revealed


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


that the ABV is 13% and the residual sugar is 17g/l—both a touch higher than Frédéric estimated on tasting—but, more interesting, that the pH is (even) lower than anticipated, at 2.83. (One would expect these days somewhere around 3.05–3.10.) The inference Frédéric draws from this is that there was no malolactic, which does not surprise him for this period. The high acidity helps explain both why the RS was higher than he estimated and why the wine is so harmonious in its balance. The bottle is labeled as extra-dry, implying a certain degree of sugar, itself in keeping with contemporary custom. When Maxime pulls the cork—


delicately, oh so delicately—there is general relief that it comes out whole, even if without much by way of gaseous panache. This relief is redoubled on tasting. There is gentle vestigial effervescence and enough freshness behind the amber robe and gamey aromatic to justify all the anticipation and ensuing ceremony. As the only Englishman present, I am quietly


pleased to note that the wine is labeled as Carte Anglaise, one of three cuvées made by M Hazart in 1929 and, if one may hazard a guess, presumably intended for the Anglo-Saxon market. A further anomaly is the spelling of Reims with an “h” on the label, as in “Rheims,” further proof of this Champagne’s venerability and authenticity. Frédéric compares the style to that of a Tokaji— an interesting observation, more than supported by the marmalade aromatic and high-acid, gamey taste and texture, if not, of course, by the residual sugar. Everyone is happy, even more so with the further treat of lunch in Bocuse’s dining room, with famous dishes such as Valérie Giscard d’Estaing’s soupe aux truffes noirs Elysée and volaille de Bresse en vessie on the menu. Four more Ruinart wines accompany the food, together with a 2019 Meursault from Domaine Faiveley and a 2020 Côte-Rôtie from Domaine Burgaud. A very special day, one cannot deny. 


Above: Maurice Hazart’s cellar book for 1926.


Photography © Mathieu Bonnevie, courtesy of Ruinart


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196  |  Page 197  |  Page 198  |  Page 199  |  Page 200  |  Page 201  |  Page 202  |  Page 203  |  Page 204  |  Page 205  |  Page 206  |  Page 207  |  Page 208  |  Page 209  |  Page 210  |  Page 211  |  Page 212  |  Page 213  |  Page 214  |  Page 215  |  Page 216  |  Page 217  |  Page 218  |  Page 219  |  Page 220