I’ve always been a fan of the 2002 Dom Ruinart BdB. It showed amazing well for years before release and when finally released in 2011, it was a big hit with a mouthful of zesty citrus, minerality, a touch of typical, fat 2002 Chardonnay character, and plenty of potential. It was right up there with the best of the 2002s, but didn’t quite capture the potential of the pre-release tastings; it was close, but not quite what I thought it would be. At least this was the case with the first release of the bottles that were disgorged in 2010 and 2011.
Fast forward and today the latest release of the 2002 Dom Ruinart BdB on the market is disgorged in 2012 (noted as such on the back label) and is often dressed in the new Dom Ruinart decor. What is in this bottle is absolutely sensational - full of powerful, yet elegant lime and mineral laced citrus mixed with loads of acidity, orange, white peach, and a huge, long finish. It is a wine that both Champagne lovers and those who just think bubbles are cool will love. I’ve had it on its own, next to an early 2011 disgorgement, and also watched the reaction of others tasting it next to other highly regarded Champagnes. Hands down this wine has been a big winner, floored everyone, and is just plain awesome.
While I applaud the notation of disgorgement dates and appreciate it, I have to say that in most cases with vintage wines in their regular/initial release, different disgorgements will show differences, but slowly converge towards the same point in 5-10 years. That said, there are cases where a particular disgorgement or two of a wine is heads and tails above the rest and will likely always be so - 1996 Philipponnat Clos des Goisses and 1996 Jean Laurent Blanc de Noirs are two cases of this. I am convinced the 2002 Dom Ruinart disgorged in 2012 is another instance of this.
Go get a bottle and try one disgorged in 2012 (most likely in the new bottle dress). If you have had a bottle in the past, see how you think it compares. I think it shows awesome and is a step up from previous releases of the 2002 BdB.
Great Info Brad! I have some bottles pendling and I am not sure which one it is so I hope for the one disgorged in 2012 - I have seen both bottles in DK!
Brad, I have the black label purchased last year. I can’t see on the back label where the disgorgement date is listed. Did they first start doing this with the latest release?
Very interesting Brad. Thanks for the heads up. I’ve got a few bottles awaiting shipment bought this summer; I’ll have to ask them for white labels if available!
We had this a while back, a leftover from a Napa winemaker’s Christmas party I think. Different disgorgement (since we drank it in 2012), but beautiful stuff. This is really one of the most elegant, liveliest, most well balanced vintage Champagnes out there now…
All of the Ruinart vintage wines should now have disgorgement dates on them globally. I thought that parts of Europe started getting disgorgement dates on the bottles last year including the black label 2002 Dom Ruinarts, but I can’t recall 100%; I know the straight vintage wines had the disgorgement date. With the new white label dress (or pink/red for the Rose), the disgorgement date will be on the bottle.
Even the bottles disgorged in 2010 and 2011 are very, very good, but the early 2012 disgorgements are stunners - as in one of the best 2002s.
I do not believe any official US Import black labeled 2002 Dom Ruinarts have disgorgement dates. The global roll out of disogrgement dates on the Dom Ruinart starts with the new labels. As mentioned above, I believe some European bound 2002 black labeled Dom Ruinarts did have disgorgement dates.
I have had quite a few mags from the 2012 disgorgement and I think they are drinking great. However, my experience with the 750’s has been more variable. The first time I had from 750 was in mid-2012, so I assume it was a 2011 disgorgement. It was all mean and green and really limey. I had similar experiences with other 750’s shortly thereafter, again not noting the disgorgement. Last week I had a bottle of the 2012 with the new label and I loved it, much more like the mags. I stopped by my local wine shop today to find a Sept. 2013 disgorgement, with the same new label as the bottle from last week. I figure I will pop that bottle tonight with the 2012 still fresh in my mind. Have you tried this new disgorgement yet?
Btw, the black label mags that I purchased in the spring do not have disgorgement dates, just a code.
Completely agree on the Mags. While Champagne is almost always better out of Magnum than 750, I’ve always found the Dom Ruinart Mags to take this to the extreme especially in the BdB cuvee.
I’ve had bottles of the 2002 disgorged between March and Sept. 2012. All of the 2012 disgorged bottles have showed awesome. I haven’t seen or tasted any 2013 disgorgements and would be shocked and ticked off to hear that a Sept. 2013 disgorgement was out on the market. Three months of post disgorgement age is inappropriate for this wine and a big shocker to me for even a Ruinart NV on the local French market. This wine needs a good 6-12 months of post disgorgement age before sale IMO and anything less than 6 months would be irresponsible. Are you sure it was a Sept. 2013 disgorgement? If so, I have some major questions for Ruinart as my current biggest complaint with Champagne producers is the lack of proper post disgorgement aging before offering the wines for retail sale. I’ve never put Ruinart into this camp before.
One other item of note, as good as the 2002 Dom Ruinart BdB is, the Rose is even better though it isn’t getting a lot of press yet since it is just starting to trickle out onto the market.
I too am surprised that Ruinart’s tete de cuvée was released so soon after disgorgement. These wines need time to calm down and fill out. In some cases, like the '08 disgorgement of '96 DP Oeno, they need many years to come around. I double checked the label to make sure I was not seeing things and sure enough the disgorgement is 09/2013 and lot number is AGP8CQ. Ian will back me up on this.
Despite the recent disgorgement the bottle was pretty good. The nose was sea breeze, yeast and lime. The palate starts with yeast and lime then progresses to lemon, orange and coconut. What stands out most about this wine is the acidity. It is what I call good acidity that makes your mouth water, like sweet tarts, and not the bad acidity that makes your throat burn. Even 60 seconds later you find your mouth is still watering. I think the '12 disgorgement was a little more refined, but this bottle has all the stuffing to get to the same place.
Thanks for the heads-up on the rose. My '02 DP rose just does not drink now, although I am very happy with my '02 Elisabeth Salmon. Would be nice to have some more rose that I can tap into now.
I’m going to have to ask Ruinart why in the world they are releasing anything disgorged a few months ago for sale. I don’t think demand is that crazy and even if it was, it is irresponsible.
As for the 02 Dom Ruinart Rose, it is full of elegance, finesse, and plenty of structure, but needs time in my eyes to show its best. It is certainly tasty right now, but will be even better in a decade so it isn’t something I would necessarily drink in quantity now. For drinking right now, it is still hard to beat the 02 Bolly Rose and if given a couple hours to open up the 03 DP Rose is very nice too. A sleeper Rose for drinking right now is the 03 Moet Grand Vintage. It has come along far better than I expected and is utterly delicious though not all that complex right now.
Global pricing is a funny thing. In my area, Dom Ruinart’s BdB is priced at or slightly below Comtes and DP. As Dom Ruinart doesn’t have the same recognition as Comtes and DP, I think this is a good move as once you head north of a more well known prestige cuvee like DP then it becomes a harder sale. Grande Dame suffered from this problem for a number of vintages and when they finally dropped the price on the 98 and then held it with the 04, the bottles became a bit easier to move.
Looks like I’m a bit out of date. The cdc has really jumped in price from when I bought it and the Ruinart is now only a little more expensive than the DP. How much of a premium would you think the 02 Ruinart mags are worth vs the latest disgorgement you noted in the OP?
Just to follow up on Jon’s note regarding the Sept. 2013 disgorgement of the 2002 Dom Ruinart BdB. It turns out that this is a mistake. I got in touch with Ruinart in regards to the disgorgement date and today they opened back up for the new year and were able to dive into how bottles disgorged in Sept. 2013 were on the market already. Ruinart’s rule is a minimum of 9 months of post disgorgement age on the Dom Ruinart BdB (normally more) before any bottles show up on the market.
These bottles were actually disgorged in April 2011. It turns out they were labeled and ready to ship to another market outside the US, but were rerouted to the US for demand reasons. This meant the bottles would need to be relabeled. In Sept. 2013, the bottles were scrubbed and labeled for the US market with the new Dom Ruinart labels. For some reason, the IT department screwed up and put the date of labeling rather than the disgorgement date. Ruinart is going to attempt to track down where all of these bottles went and relay the proper information. A big thank you to Jon for helping out in solving this mystery.
Great info, thanks Brad. I have one bottle of black label DR left but will now start looking for the white labels disgorged in 2012. Any leads on where to purchase these bottles?