Ruinart

Brut Millésimé — Magnum 1996

Champagne · Brut Millésimé · Reims · 150cl

The vintage cuvée of Champagne’s oldest established house, from one of the great years of the late century. 1996 brought a long, hot, dry summer: the grapes ripened fully yet kept unusually high acidity, which is why the best wines have aged so slowly. Critics find a delicate nose of blossom and herbs, roasted hazelnut with age, and a crystalline, saline finish of real length — and the magnum is the format that carries a wine of this age best.

Ruinart was founded in Reims in 1729 by Nicolas Ruinart, nephew of the Benedictine monk Dom Thierry Ruinart — the first house created to trade in Champagne alone. Its wines rest in Gallo-Roman chalk quarries beneath the city, part of the UNESCO-listed Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars; Chardonnay is the signature of the house style.

Blend

51% Chardonnay, 49% Pinot Noir

Origin

Grand & Premier Crus — Côte des Blancs, Montagne de Reims

Vintage

Long, dry summer; full ripeness with high acidity

Critics

93/100 — average of five published scores

Format

150cl magnum

Condition

Original label, visibly worn and scuffed — as photographed