Ruinart — The World's Oldest Champagne House
Ruinart holds a distinction that no other Champagne house can claim: it is the oldest established Champagne house in the world. Founded in Reims in 1729, nearly three centuries of history, tradition, and uncompromising dedication to quality are distilled into every bottle. Ruinart is not merely a Champagne house — it is the original Champagne house, the benchmark against which all others are measured, and a living testament to the extraordinary potential of the Chardonnay grape in the chalky soils of the Marne.
History & Heritage
The story of Ruinart begins not with a winemaker, but with a cloth merchant. Nicolas Ruinart, a textile trader from Reims, had grown up watching his uncle Dom Thierry Ruinart — a Benedictine monk and close friend of Dom Pérignon — develop a fascination with the sparkling wines of the Champagne region. When Nicolas established his trading house in 1729, he began selling Champagne alongside his cloth, quickly recognising that the wine was the more extraordinary commodity. In 1764, his son Claude Ruinart formally dedicated the house entirely to Champagne, and the dynasty was born.
From its earliest days, Ruinart was the Champagne of kings, aristocrats, and the European elite. The house supplied Champagne to the court of Louis XV and became a fixture of the most celebrated tables in France and beyond. Through revolution, war, and the upheavals of two centuries, Ruinart endured — its cellars, its vines, and its commitment to quality intact. Today, Ruinart is part of the Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) group, which has preserved and celebrated the house's extraordinary heritage while providing the resources to ensure its wines remain among the finest in Champagne.
Ruinart's historic chalk cellars — the crayères — are among the most remarkable in all of Champagne. Carved from the soft chalk beneath the city of Reims by the Romans and later expanded by the monks of Saint-Nicaise Abbey, these cathedral-like underground galleries descend up to 38 metres below the surface, maintaining a constant temperature of 10–12°C year-round. It is in these extraordinary cellars that Ruinart's wines undergo their slow, patient secondary fermentation and ageing — a process that gives them their characteristic finesse, complexity, and longevity. The crayères were classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015.
The Region: Champagne, France
Champagne is the most northerly and most celebrated sparkling wine region in the world, located approximately 150 kilometres northeast of Paris in the Marne département of northeastern France. The region's cool, marginal climate — at the very northern limit of viable viticulture — produces grapes of naturally high acidity and relatively low sugar levels, the ideal foundation for the production of sparkling wine of exceptional freshness, elegance, and longevity.
The soils of Champagne are its defining characteristic: a deep layer of soft, porous chalk — the remnant of an ancient seabed — that drains freely, reflects heat back onto the vine canopy, and retains moisture during dry periods. This chalk is the foundation of Champagne's distinctive mineral character and the reason why the region's wines age so magnificently. Ruinart sources its grapes primarily from the Côte des Blancs — the heartland of Chardonnay in Champagne, where the purest chalk soils produce the most elegant, mineral, and age-worthy expressions of the variety — and from the Montagne de Reims and Vallée de la Marne, which contribute Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier of structure, depth, and red fruit character.
Grape Varieties
Chardonnay is the soul of Ruinart. The house was among the first to champion Blanc de Blancs — Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay — and this commitment to the variety remains the defining characteristic of the Ruinart style. Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs delivers the hallmark Ruinart profile: extraordinary freshness, vibrant citrus and stone fruit aromatics, a fine, persistent mousse, and a mineral precision that speaks directly of the chalk beneath the vines.
Pinot Noir contributes structure, body, and the red fruit complexity that defines the Ruinart Rosé and adds depth to the R de Ruinart Brut. Sourced primarily from the Montagne de Reims, Ruinart's Pinot Noir brings power and elegance in equal measure.
Pinot Meunier adds roundness, approachability, and a distinctive fruity generosity to the R de Ruinart Brut, complementing the Chardonnay's precision and the Pinot Noir's structure.
Our Range
Ruinart Blanc de Blancs NV 750mL — The flagship expression and the wine that defines Ruinart's identity. Made from 100% Chardonnay, sourced primarily from Premiers Crus of the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims, with grapes from the Sézannais hillsides for roundness and the Saint-Thierry massif for lightness and freshness. Intensely aromatic and surprisingly sensual. The nose opens with lemon, citron, pineapple, and passion fruit, underlined by fresh spices of ginger and cardamom, before revealing white jasmine, lime blossom, ripe white peach, and a lively touch of pink peppercorn. On the palate, juicy ripe peach and pear give way to exotic pineapple, with a superb, highly refreshing finale of citrus fruit and a pleasantly light touch of bitterness from citron and white grapefruit. Pure, precise, and harmonious — a Champagne of extraordinary thirst-quenching aromatic freshness. Presented in Ruinart's iconic Second Skin eco-designed packaging.
Ruinart Rosé NV 750mL — A Champagne of remarkable delicacy and complexity, blending 45% Chardonnay from the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims with 55% Pinot Noir from the Montagne de Reims and Vallée de la Marne, of which 18–19% has been vinified as still red wine to impart colour and red fruit depth. Delicate pomegranate pink with very slightly orange reflections and a sparkling, persistent foam. The nose is subtle and fresh, opening with tropical fruits — guava and lychee — followed by small berries of raspberry, cherry, and wild strawberry, then rose and pomegranate notes that complete a complex, intense aromatic profile. On the palate the attack is distinct and full, cradled by a gentle effervescence. Freshly picked berries are fully expressed, with a delightful balance of freshness and voluptuous body, expressed by an elegant, bracing touch of mint and pink grapefruit. Presented in Ruinart's iconic Second Skin eco-designed packaging.
Ruinart R de Ruinart Brut NV 750mL — The most approachable and versatile expression in the range — an elegant blend of Chardonnay with the delicate structure of Pinot Noir and the fruity generosity of Pinot Meunier, sourced from 40 to 50 crus across the Côte des Blancs and Montagne de Reims. Autumn and summer aromas of apple and apricot on the nose, with hints of elderflower adding a delicate floral lift. A Champagne of genuine elegance and broad appeal — the perfect introduction to the Ruinart style and an outstanding aperitif or celebration wine.
How to Enjoy Ruinart
All Ruinart Champagnes are best served well chilled at 8–10°C in a tulip-shaped flute or a wide-mouthed white wine glass that allows the full aromatic complexity to express itself. The Blanc de Blancs is a natural partner for oysters, sashimi, grilled scallops, and delicate seafood — its mineral precision and citrus freshness are a perfect foil for the ocean's salinity. The Rosé pairs beautifully with salmon, tuna tartare, strawberry desserts, and soft cheeses. The R de Ruinart Brut is the ideal aperitif — elegant, approachable, and endlessly celebratory. All three expressions are equally magnificent on their own, as a moment of pure luxury.
Explore our full Ruinart range below and discover why the world's oldest Champagne house remains, nearly three centuries after its founding, one of the most celebrated and sought-after names in all of Champagne.
