Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blanc 2006 Vintage Champagne

Dom Thierry Ruinart was a visionary Benedictine monk who lived from 1657-1709 and was instrumental in the development of sparkling wine. That's got to be one of the greatest contributions a monk has made to the secular world. He certainly did more than that Friar Huberd in The Canterbury Tales, didn't he live in a cupboard or something? O wait, no, that's a salty sailor's limerick that shouldn't be shared in polite company. Throughout his life, Dom Thierry Ruinart would visit his brother at his home in Champagne and relayed his conviction that 'vin de mousse' had a promising future.

In 1729, twenty years after the death of Dom Ruinart, Nicolas Ruinart, Dom Ruinart's nephew, founded the first Champagne House, Maison Ruinart, and forever ingrained his uncle's name and the house in the history books. With an elegant toasted aroma, balanced with fresh floral notes and succulent stone fruit flavours, Dom Ruinart vintage champagne is a monument to the great man's prestigious legacy.

Nicolas Ruinart, a Reims draper like his father, started his first account ledger devoted to ""wine with bubbles"" on September 1st, 1729.This ledger serves as the birth certificate for the first Champagne House ever created. The first bottles of “wine with bubbles” produced were intended as gifts for Nicolas Ruinart’s clients who purchased cloth and fabric.

However, Nicolas was a sophisticated businessman and he had adopted his uncle’s pioneering vision and ambition for “wine with bubbles,” and just six years after the initial bottles were produced he found success. In 1735, Maison Ruinart abandoned the cloth trade to concentrate on the burgeoning champagne trade. This became Nicolas's sole occupation and growth was exponential with 170 bottles sold in 1730, 3,000 bottles in 1731, 36,000 in 1761, and onwards.

Today, under the ownership of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, Ruinart is one of the most prestigious houses in Champagne. Dom Ruinart 2006 is made entirely of Chardonnay Grands Crus: 63% from the Cote des Blancs (predominantly Chouilly, Le Mesnil and Avize) and 37% from the northern slope of the Montagne de Reims (predominantly Sillery and Puisieulx). This is a perfect combination giving this vintage its ephemeral, delicate structure.