Let It All Go And Cue The Don Ho

So I take a deep breath, and fall into a kind of High School teacher tone, and talk about the differences between sparkling wine and Champagne (simple geography it is, basically) and then find my way up onto my soapbox, and preach a little gospel on Grower Champagne.  Now certainly I am not going to bore you all with another soliloquy on the Farmer Fizz, though I’ll gloss over the sermon here-and-there in this post, but if the customer is on a budget, I’ll steer them toward the solid Cava producers Juve y Camps and Codorniu, or the Languedoc sparkler Antech, or maybe something from Italy, like Franciocorta or Trentino’s Ferrari, or something domestic perhaps, from Roederer Estate, Argyle or Schramsberg.  But you wanna do some Champagne?  I got your fix.

And while I could talk to you all day about Pierre Peters, Vilmart or Egly-Ouriet, one that may or may not get me into trouble with my fellow Bubbleheads is Ruinart.  Lumped in with the other luxury Champagne houses Moet-Chandon and Veuve Clicquot in many Champagne conversations I’ve had, they are actually pretty small, and considered one of the first Champagne houses of any note, making exceptional Chardonnay-driven sparklers.  Established in 1729 by Nicolas Ruinart, nephew to the lesser-known Champagne Dom, Dom Thierry Ruinart, who had learned of vin de mousse (how they referred to Champagne before it was a thing) during his studies at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés near Paris.  Ruinart would become one of the most important Champagne houses that continues today.

The Four Horsemen assembled at a little place in the Cincinnati enclave of Montgomery at a place called Eddie Merlot’s for a little seminar/lunch with three of Ruinart’s great offerings:

Champagne Ruinart Brut Blanc de Blancs NV.  From the Côtes des Blancs and Montagne de Reims regions inside Champagne comes this 100% Chardonnay, it reveals lovely notes of toast, citrus, honey and white flowers.  Slightly creamy mousse with a supple finish.

Champagne Ruinart Brut Rosé NV.  A bit of ginger candy and pink grapefruit zest coupled with red cherry and red apple skin nuances.  It’s a bit of freshly-baked brioche, blanched almond, rose petal and cranberry purée.  Chardonnay and Pinot Noir blend.

Champagne Dom Ruinart Brut Blanc de Blancs 2004.  Peaches and lemon zest swirl around an ocean of vanilla cream and pear butter with toasty, leesy undercurrents and minerally subtexts – this is a beautiful Champagne.

I was drawn to Champagne years ago, before I leapt across the river for 15 years before returning to the Buckeye State, inspired by some great palates in this business, as well as continued inspiration from wine writers, industry heavies and colleagues, and many of the fellow Fizz fanatics that pass through our stores each and every day.  Champagne is more than just something celebratory, it has something for everyone.  Champagne makes everything better.  And a day like this, with the deft wines of Ruinart, life is good.