Cellar Tour and Tasting at Champagne Ruinart, Reims, with Frédéric Panaïotis, Chef de Caves - From Lyon to Paris: Total Immersion in Burgundy and Champagne 2023 by ombiasy WineTours

From Lyon to Paris: Total Immersion in Burgundy and Champagne 2023 by ombiasy WineTours took place from Sunday, July 02 - Thursday, July 13, 2023. The tour started in Lyon and ended in Paris.

Our last visit of the tour was Champagne Ruinart, Reims.

We were welcomed by Frédéric Panaïotis, Chef de Caves. We toured the cellars and sat down for a tasting in a private tasting room. 

Frédéric Panaïotis

Frédéric Panaïotis was borne and grew up in Reims/ Champagne. He graduated from ENSA Montpellier and INSEAD. Frédéric Panaïotis worked at Scharffenberger Cellars in California and for 12 years at Champagne Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin. He joined Ruinart in 2007 as Chef de Caves.

Champagne Ruinart, Reims

Ruinart was the first established Champagne House in 1729. A Benedictine monk, Dom Thierry Ruinart, was a contemporary of Louis XIV, and lived in the second half of the 17th century. He had a brilliant mind and left his home, the Champagne region, to live in the Abbey of Saint-German-des-Près, a very influential learning monastery. The proximity to Paris exposed him to the more worldly life and to the circle of young aristocrats. He learned of a “wine with bubbles”. 

A few years later, in 1729 his nephew Nicolas Ruinart created the first bubbly wine producing company and the “Champagne” was born. Later Champagne Ruinart bought parts of the ancient crayères to store the Champagne bottles in perfect conditions. The crayères were created when the Romans dug out the rocks to build the city of Reims in the 4 th century AD. They are an UNESCO world heritage site.

Champagne Ruinart - Wine Searcher

Champagne Ruinart was one of the first Champagne houses, established in 1729. It takes its name from the Benedictine monk Dom Ruinart, whose writings on Champagne were passed down through his family and resulted in the Maison Ruinart we know today.

Dom Ruinart was born in Champagne in 1657, and died in 1709. He moved from his home to an abbey just outside of Paris, where he began to learn about the "wine with bubbles", which was very popular among the young aristocrats of the time.

He believed it could be made best on the soils of his hometown. Upon his death in 1709, he left many books containing his writings on this to his nephew Nicolas Ruinart and, 20 years later, Maison Ruinart was founded.

The Ruinart house was passed through the family for the next two centuries, during which time they were the first to ship rosé Champagne, as well as being the first to ship their bottles in wooden cases. From humble beginnings, the house now produces almost 2 million bottles a year and is currently owned by luxury brand superpower LVMH.

Ruinart owns vineyards across the Champagne region, predominantly in the Côtes de Blancs and the Montagne de Reims. The house style is Pinot Noir-dominant, but the wine's flavor profile tends to favor Chardonnay.

In fact, Ruinart's prestige cuvée, Dom Ruinart, is a Blanc de Blancs made entirely from grand cru Chardonnay grapes, predominantly from the Avize, Chouilly and Le Mesnil vineyards. This wine is aged for 10 years in the underground cellars, which were acquired in the 18th Century and lie under the city of Reims. These cellars, which are 8km (5 miles) long and three levels deep, hold many of the oldest expressions of Ruinart.

The non-vintage wines, which include a brut, rosé and blanc de blancs, are aged for three years before release. All of the wines are vinified in stainless steel, using inert gas to prevent oxidation. Dosage is limited and this helps to reinforce the fresh, flinty and integrated style of Ruinart Champagne.

Champagne Ruinart - Berry Bros. and Rudd

Ruinart is a low profile, yet select, Champagne house which is steeped in history. It dates back to the 17th century, the time of the famous Dom Pérignon. It was founded in 1729 by Nicolas Ruinart in the city of Reims, the year after a Royal Decree in 1728 whereby Louis XV gave his consent for sparkling wines to be shipped in baskets containing 50 to 100 bottles. This opened the gates of Europe to champagne and thus makes Ruinartthe oldest Champagne House. Nicolas' uncle was Dom Thierry Ruinart, close friend to Dom Pérignon himself and an inspiration behind the creation of this house after the Dom’s death. Its Gallo-Roman chalk cellars are now a UNESCO-classified historical monument and every two years the finest sommeliers in Europe gather there to compete for the Trophée Ruinart.

Since the second world war the house has become synonymous with class and its production of only 1.7 million bottles per annum is small compared to other grande marques. It is now part of the LVMH group that also owns Moët & Chandon.

The house style emphasises the pre-eminence of Chardonnay over Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.

The 'R' de Ruinart NV contains 40% Chardonnay minimum, with 25% reserve wines. Ruinart Blanc de Blancs is 100% Chardonnay, sourced predominantly from Premier Cru vineyards, while Ruinart Brut Rosé is typically 45% Chardonnay and 55% Pinot, of which 18% is red wine, so following the assemblage, rather than the saignée method of rosé production.

The Dom Ruinart range, named for the spiritual father of the House, represents the prestige cuvées of the house. Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs is a Grand Cru Chardonnay, predominantly from the Côte des Blancs (70%) and the remainder from the Montagne de Reims.

Dom Ruinart Rosé champagne has the same basis as the Blanc de Blancs (Chardonnay) to which 15%-20% red wine (Pinot Noir from Verzenay and Verzy) has been added. These are amazingly rich and pure in youth developing red Burgundian notes with long ageing such as in the 1988 or 1990 vintages. 

Arriving

Welcome with Frédéric Panaïotis, Chef de Caves

Cellar Tour

Tasting

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