The creation of a vintage is a rare moment, especially for a house like Ruinart. Rare in the life of a champagne house, rare for connoisseurs who have been waiting for years. It’s an exceptional moment that the Maison Ruinard is celebrating, as the Dom Ruinart Blanc 2002 and Dom Ruinart Rosé 1998 vintages come out of reserve for the first time.
The event has that magical je ne sais quoi that makes you want to accompany it with a symbolic object. And it was Maarten Baas, a great friend of the house, who took charge of this celebration.
Maarten Baas is an international designer who has won countless major prizes and projects, and several of his objects have been integrated into prestigious international museums such as the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Stedelijk in Amsterdam, to name but a few. This is not Maarten Baas’s first collaboration with Ruinart, as we remember from the 2009 prestige cuvée or the 1998 vintage.
Maarten Baas has chosen to emphasize the preciousness of the bottles by enclosing them in a rough case, with the false appearance of a coal monolith. This piece follows in the footsteps of Sculpt, a collection of sketch-like furniture.
Dom Ruinart 2002: A tribute to Ruinart taste
A tightrope-walking year, warm and sunny, sometimes verging on drought but never exceeding it, is the source of the rare balance of Dom Ruinart 2002, which echoes the exceptional balance of the 1996 vintage. Composed exclusively of Chardonnay from Grands Crus, it has a sparkling light yellow color with soft almond-green highlights. The initial nose confirms the wine’s liveliness, with notes of white flowers dominated by lime blossom, enhanced by hints of fresh fruit and citrus. Then the nose softens, with the roundness of gourmet pastry notes (cookie, coconut and hazelnut), just awakened by a mineral and menthol freshness. The palate is racy and particularly long, again expressing a zesty citrus freshness. This is followed by hints of fresh exotic fruit, supported by the minerality of flinty aromas. The finesse of an energetic effervescence gives it a refined texture and silky acidity. Thanks to this freshness, Dom Ruinart 2002 will be particularly appreciated as an aperitif. The patina of time acquired in the cellars of the Maison Ruinart also makes it perfectly suited to the table, where its minerality will respond to dishes with marine and iodized notes, such as thinly sliced scallops marinated in seaweed, or a langoustine marinade served with a light cream with kombawa peel. Like all great vintages, Dom Ruinart will reveal new facets with age. Several more years of maturation in the cellar will enable it to match dishes with even more intense flavors.
Dom Ruinart Rosé 1998: the sublimation of Ruinart taste
Dom Ruinart rosé 1998 is a fine exercise in style, combining maturity and freshness, in the pure heritage of the 1996 vintage that preceded it. The blend is composed mainly of Grand Cru Chardonnay, with a touch of Pinot Noir vinified in red. At first glance, this wine’s soft, luminous brilliance is enhanced by rose-gold reflections, with coral hues that become more pronounced with age.
Dom Ruinart Rosé 1998 opens with extremely refined notes, moving from echoes of rose and geranium to fruity hints of mirabelle plum, wild strawberry and redcurrant. After a few minutes, the nose warms up to reveal the full maturity of the vintage, with notes of white chocolate and candied grapefruit topped by a tear of honey. The blend, an emblematic signature of Dom Ruinart Rosé, takes on its full meaning on the palate, with a marked complementarity of grape varieties. The Chardonnay characterizes the attack, which is coated, precise and fine. Pinot Noir takes over on the finish, with a slight bitterness of rhubarb and grapefruit, but always delicately, thanks to its low dosage. With its fullness and freshness, Dom Ruinart Rosé 1998 is the perfect accompaniment to the rich, complex flavors of coriander-marinated prawns, caramelized veal sweetbreads or candied artichokes surrounded by girolles with cebette mushrooms. In the tradition of the 1996, 1990 and 1986 vintages, Dom Ruinart Rosé 1998 will gain in maturity year after year.
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