DOM RUINART BLANC DE BLANCS
CHAMPAGNE, FRANCE 2013
Dom Ruinart, the house's prestige cuvée, accounts for about 2% of what the world's oldest Champagne house produces, and its cellar master doesn’t bottle any vintage he doesn't love. This is a masterpiece of minerality and maturity, with just the sort of tensile, built-to-last structure that collectors crave.
In a 96-point rave for Vinous, Antonio Galloni singled out its "textural elegance and mineral intensity” and its “seamless integration of fruit and structural elements” — calling it a Champagne that is “very expressive from the outset yet unquestionably built for long aging."
The late cellar master Frédéric Panaïotis passed on bottling the 2008 and 2012 vintages, finding them too austere; 2013 gave him the exact balance and depth he was waiting for, and he set it aside for nine years on the lees to give it structure and maturity. Built entirely from Chardonnay, which was sourced mostly from Grand Cru vineyards in the Côte des Blancs and the Montagne de Reims, the wine, in Panaïotis’s words, is "more Chablis than Meursault.”
That’s a perfect description that gets exactly at what you find in the glass — a Champagne brimming with chalk and tension. Nose the glass and close your eyes, and see if you don’t picture a citrus grove at the break of dawn. It’s a vibrant spray of lemon zest, bergamot, grapefruit, and white flowers, and you’ll want to revel in it. On the palate, meanwhile, it’s as lean and cut as you could hope for, taut and mineral, with just enough (but not too much) acidity. As it unfolds, you keep waiting for it to soften into something richer, plusher, but to its immense credit (and to your enormous benefit) it never does. The finish is unusually fine, with delicacy and depth, and it lingers far longer than the weight of this wine would suggest.
The chalk on the palate, the patience in the cellar, the total devotion to Chardonnay … all that makes this 2013 vintage so special, draws on instincts the house has been refining since a monk's nephew opened its doors in Reims, nearly 300 years ago.
Our allocation is small, though, and Dom Ruinart in a vintage this exacting and exciting isn’t going to stay on our shelves for long. Secure your bottles and cases today!
*Offer NOT valid in-store. This offer is made pre-arrival, with wines estimated to be delivered to your preferred store in Winter 2026 (Dec. 21st - Mar. 20th, 2027). With the supply chain issues that we are seeing globally, there may be some unforeseen delays which could affect the ETA. All sale prices are the lowest available at Total Wine & More and ONLY valid through Concierge Sales. No further discounts or coupons may be applied. Offer not valid in KS, MI, NY, OK & TN. This offer will expire on Tuesday, November 10th, 2026.