Coming in at nine years old, this disgorged-to-order Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs has completely recalibrated our understanding of value and brought me to one conclusion: If there exists an equally priced vintage Champagne of this age, profundity, and sophistication, I have yet to find it.
Coincidentally, this tiny grower-producer, whom we’re calling the best-kept secret in Grand Cru Champagne, was discovered by importer Charles Neal at about the same time I entered the wine business, and the story behind it speaks volumes to the immense power of exclusivity. In 1999, no one outside of France had ever seen or heard of Ruelle-Pertois, but when Neal asked if he could represent them, proprietor Michel Ruelle simply responded “no.” The longer explanation is that Michel had no wine available: Every bottle in his cellar was already assigned to longstanding French accounts. So, Neal began the waiting game and was finally permitted a small batch at the beginning of the new millennium. Even now, Ruelle-Pertois is still brought over in the smallest of waves (ripples would be more accurate), so I feel that we’ve been awarded the rarest of opportunities. Had Charles Neal not been in the right place at the right time, these magnificent wines would still be whispered about and enjoyed solely in France. Stuff of this magnitude and obscurity normally doesn’t just fall into your lap, but today we’re lucky enough to bask in the greatest Grand Cru value out there. I’ll type it again so you know your eyes aren’t deceiving you: A 2011 disgorged-to-order vintage Champagne from Grand Crus Cramant, Chouilly, and Oiry—for
$55. If you buy all 12 bottles allowed to you, we guarantee every single one will be devoured.
Other than the above, there’s simply not much information circulating around for Ruelle-Pertois: There’s no website and hardly anyone has access to these bottles. What we do know is that Michel Ruelle and his wife, Martine Pertois—both from Champagne-producing families—wed in the early 1970s, created their own estate, and have since passed the torch to their own children. They own about six hectares of vines, four of which are scattered throughout the Côte des Blancs Grand Crus of Cramant, Chouilly, and Oiry.
It is from these legendary villages that today’s 2011 Vintage Champagne is sourced. Following lutte raisonnée principles, all Grand Cru Chardonnay fruit is hand-harvested and shuttled to their cellar in Moussy, about 10-15 minutes away. After a gentle pressing and fermentation, the wine is transferred to bottle and cellared for an absurd amount of time. Keep in mind, a vintage Champagne need only age in bottle for 36 months, but Ruelle-Pertois absolutely shatters that baseline: Today’s 2011 matured sur lie for nearly 100 months before disgorgement! After a seven-gram dosage, the wine was corked and shipped directly to America earlier this year.
Ruelle-Pertois’ 2011 Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs reveals a deep yellow in the glass with silver and platinum reflections slipping through an ultra-fine mousse. With nine years of total aging, it immediately expresses generous notes of creamed yellow apple, toasted brioche, Anjou pear, pineapple, Meyer lemon curd, almond flakes, crème brûlée, honeysuckle, fresh white flowers, oyster shell, and filigreed crushed-chalk minerality. The colorful range of aromas are surely breathtaking, but the overall style is what transfixes me the most: It graces the palate with unbelievable finesse and elegance, pings every taste bud with intricate, slow-building layers, and lingers for well over a minute after each sip. At nearly a decade old, there is so much vibrant tension here which just speaks to the profound qualities of Chardonnay from Chouilly, Cramant, and Oiry in sparkling form. Clearly, they’ve done the bulk of aging for you, so you can enjoy this world-class Grand Cru value in all-purpose stems around 50 degrees right now. Still, it will age for another decade, so I can’t stress enough how prudential it would be to stock up. Find a place for Ruelle-Pertois’ 2011 in your cellar and it’ll exponentially reward over the years—there’s no better way to spend $55 in Champagne, guaranteed.
