Ruinart

Ruinart – The venerable legacy of the first Champagne house

Where the chalk cliffs of Champagne have, since time immemorial, held the sunlight within their pores, and the vines of the Côte des Blancs rustle in the gentle northerly breeze, a Champagne house was founded in 1729 that, like no other, has shaped the history of this region. Ruinart – a name that echoes through the centuries, evoking the world’s first Champagne house, founded on 1 September 1729 by Nicolas Irénée Ruinart.

However, the history of this extraordinary house began decades earlier – with a visionary Benedictine monk named Dom Thierry Ruinart. The learned monk recognised early on the growing enthusiasm amongst the aristocratic courts of Europe for the sparkling ‘wine with bubbles’ and passed on this knowledge and his vision to his nephew Nicolas. Twenty years after Dom Ruinart’s death, Nicolas took the plunge and made use of the royal decree of 25 May 1728, which permitted the transport of wine in bottles for the first time. The first consignments were sent to cloth merchants – what we would today call promotional gifts. The business flourished so much that, as early as 1735, Nicolas gave up his father’s cloth business to devote himself entirely to champagne .

At the heart of the Ruinart philosophy has always been Chardonnay, a rare and delicate grape variety that gives the house its unmistakable elegance, finesse and freshness . The grapes come predominantly from the Grand Cru vineyards of the Côte des Blancs and the Montagne de Reims, and are harvested by hand and processed with the utmost precision. The cuvées are aged for an exceptionally long time – the prestigious Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs is aged on its lees for up to ten years before it is bottled.

The house’s legendary chalk cellars, which were first carved into the rock during the Gallo-Roman period, extend over more than eight kilometres across three levels – up to 38 metres below the city of Reims. They offer ideal conditions for the maturation of these fine wines and were designated a historic monument in 1931. Today, Ruinart is part of the LVMH Group and is preparing for its 300th anniversary in 2029 . Ruinart is more than just a champagne – it is the venerable sound of Champagne, a living testament to almost three centuries of unbroken excellence and the French art of living.