1998 Ruinart Dom Ruinart
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Tasting notes
The 1998 Dom Ruinart is showing beautifully. Apricot, baked apple tart, butter, hazelnut and orange confit all grace the 1998. Rich and sumptuous, with striking nuance, the 1998 is a great example of this era at Dom Ruinart. The higher dosage of the era and the strong brioche qualities that were such a signature back then are very much in evidence. The 1998 is a fabulous choice for drinking now. Dosage was 7.5 grams per liter. Vineyard sources were 66% Côtes des Blancs and 34% Montagne de Reims. Disgorged: September, 2008.
Critic scores
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
The 1998 Dom Ruinart La Reserve is a late-release bottling that spent several additional years in the cellar and was bottled with just 4 grams of dosage. Fresh, bright and wonderfully nuanced, with a hint of reduction that comes from long aging on the lees, the 1998 has so much to offer. Baked apple tart, pastry, vanillin, dried pear are just some of the many notes that come to life in this exquisitely vibrant, crystalline Champagne. Medium in body and fresh, with tons of pure verve, the 1998 is a real stunner.
Tasted blind. Disgorged March 2010. Heady nose. Beefy, solid, a sort of white burgundy kind of champagne. This is a wine with a beginning, middle and end. Savoury. Excellent acidity. Long. Magnum? No, this was the bottle! (JR)
Disgorged 2008. From magnum. Pale gold. Lightly toasty but with a green hint of herbs and a woody quality, a touch of spice. Not as much development as I would have expected. Both herbal and toasty on the palate too. Precise. Quite rich on the palate, the bubbles still fine and very good length. Good intensity on the mid palate. (JH)