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After bottling, the yeasts quickly consume the oxygen locked up in the bottle. But small and slow gas exchanges are going to continue during the entire aging process. Indeed, the carbon dioxide escapes the bottle while the oxygen from the air enters it to balance the system. These exchanges are critical because, over a long period of time, the oxygen can modify the wine s organoleptic profile and the aromatic freshness sought by Ruinart. This is particularly true for a Blanc de Blancs that is aged for more than ten years on lees. The control of these gas exchanges are essential to achieve the desired wine profile.

Dom Ruinart 2010 marks a major step in mastering this process with the return of a once common practice: cork stoppers for ageing on lees. In the late 1990 s, guided by intuition, the cellar master decided to age some of the Dom Ruinart 1998 bottles under cork instead of using crown caps. As usual, he then let time do its work. In 2008, on tasting, the difference was significant: the bottles with corks revealed tenser wines with an additional layer of complexity. Although cork is porous, over a long period of time, it remains extremely stable. While metal caps allow small amounts of oxygen to continually enter the bottle.

The evidence is clear. The paradigm has changed.The next Dom Ruinart vintages will benefit from this knowledge. Science, vision, and tradition come together in a noble material that is also ecological the cork oak regenerates its bark every nine years after the first harvest, which happens 23 years after the plantation.

CORK STOPPERS FOR AGEING ON LEES