1996 Dom Ruinart

I came home tonight and decided I would keep the lights off in the cellar and just grab at random whatever bottle touched my finger tips first.  I have some expensive wines, and also some pretty ordinary stuff, but I needed to be spontaneous and was convinced I would drink whatever I picked, and then post it in Blokes Notes.

Well, I wasn’t all that dissapointed with my selection, although the 1996 Dom Ruinart is selling for around $300 AUS at the moment, so I did think maybe it was a little over the top.

Ruinart, establisehd in 1729, is at the epicenter of Champagne dominance over the millenia. Ruinart was the first Champagne estate to acquire it’s own crayères for the purpose of ageing wine, the only ones to be classed as a historic monument. The depth of the pits and the chalk from which they are made provide perfect thermal stability and optimum humidity. The constant low temperature leads to a slow prise de mousse, an effervescence of incomparable quality.

Alcohol: 12.5%

Blokes Notes: The first thing that takes you back with this wine is its refined aromas and subtleness. The palate is extremly textural, but fine. It’s quite mineral, with some cut flowers and lime characters, and great balance of silkyness and crisp acid.  This wine is pristine in its purity, but still really complex. It finishes with awesome length, and has loads of years left. 

At $300 per bottle, yes it’s expensive, but it’s very, very good.

You can view and purchase Dom Ruinart here.

About Jono

Jono has been involved in the wine industry since he was quite young. His parents had a small vineyard and winery in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia, and spent plenty of school holidays working in the vineyard and winery. He completed a Bachelor of Agricultural Science (Oenology) from the University of Adelaide (formely the Roseworthy Agricultural College). He also holds a Post Graduate Degree in Business Management from Monash University. His wine industry experience include working as a winemaker for Petaluma in the Adelaide Hills under the legendary Brian Croser. He was then sent to Smithbrook in the Pemberton region of Western Australia, then owned by Petaluma. He spent 6 years at Smithbrook managing the vineyard and winery, and during that time also completed a vintage at Chateau Carsin in Bordeaux. The two years leading into 2008, he traveled the world with his partner sampling the worlds best wines, and also fulfilling his other passion of equestrian competition.
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