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An Afternoon with Elegance
Inside the Ruinart Tasting Led by Florence Boubée-Legrand
There are moments when craftsmanship transcends category, when wine becomes art, and art becomes emotion. Such was the mood when an intimate circle of guests gathered for a guided tasting with Florence Boubée-Legrand, the winemaker and oenologist at Maison Ruinart, the world’s oldest Champagne house.
As the midday sun filtered through autumn haze, a hush of anticipation settled over the room. A dozen flutes stood ready, each one soon to hold a different expression of Ruinart’s most luminous signatures: Ruinart Blanc de Blancs, Dom Ruinart Blanc 2013, and Ruinart Rosé. These were not simply wines to be poured they were to be interpreted by one of Champagne’s most discerning voices.
Florence entered quietly, her presence calm yet assured, like someone who understands both the gravity and grace of her vocation. To meet her is to sense the duality of science and poetry that defines great winemaking. Her path to Ruinart is as intricate as the layers of mousse in a perfect glass of Blanc de Blancs; precise, patient, and deeply human.
Founded in 1729, Maison Ruinart predates nearly everything around it; the American Revolution, the Industrial Age, even the modern concept of luxury. And yet, under Florence’s stewardship, its wines feel startlingly contemporary.
The Blanc de Blancs glows pale gold, its texture silken, its acidity like a fine brushstroke. Florence invites the room to taste not with speed but with silence, to notice how the bubbles lift aromas of citrus, white peach, and freshly baked brioche. It is purity rendered in liquid form, a style that Ruinart has perfected across centuries.
Between sips, she shares glimpses from the Maison’s legendary chalk cellars, the crayères, carved deep beneath Reims and designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. “Down there,” she smiles, “you feel the weight of time. The air is cool, still, and silent - except for the sound of Champagne slowly becoming itself.”
Maison Ruinart: Where Time Refines Taste
The second pour, Dom Ruinart Blanc 2013, carries an entirely different gravitas structured, complex, and intellectual, much like Florence herself. This vintage, she explains, is built from Grand Cru Chardonnay and shaped by patience: nine years resting on the lees before release. “2013 was a year of contrasts cool spring, late harvest. It demanded resilience, both from the vines and from us.”
Dom Ruinart Blanc 2013: Precision Meets Patience
Finally comes the Ruinart Rosé, the house’s ode to sensuality and emotion. The color, a luminous coral-pink, catches the afternoon light and transforms it into warmth. “Rosé,” Florence says, “is Champagne’s most expressive form. It’s where Chardonnay and Pinot Noir dance.”
Ruinart Rosé: Emotion in Color
A Conversation Beyond the Glass
As the final bubbles settle, Florence invites guests to reflect — not on tasting notes, but on sensations. “Champagne,” she says, “is about connection — between terroir and time, maker and drinker, moment and memory.”
Around her, the room feels transformed. Conversations drift easily; laughter mingles with the faint chime of glassware. A guest leans in to ask about her favorite part of the winemaking process. “The blending,” she replies without hesitation. “It’s where intuition meets memory. You’re painting with taste.”
In that response lies the essence of Florence Boubée-Legrand — a winemaker whose artistry lives not in formulas but in feelings. Her Champagne is as layered as her career: literary, scientific, expressive, and deeply human.
An Afternoon to Remember
For those lucky enough to attend, the Ruinart Champagne Tasting was more than a showcase of exquisite wines. It was a meditation on craft and continuity — on how a Maison founded nearly three centuries ago can remain vital through the vision of a woman who embodies both mastery and modernity.
As guests departed, the city shimmered beyond the glass, and one couldn’t help but feel that the effervescence lingered — in the mind, on the palate, and in the quiet inspiration left by a winemaker who understands that the truest luxury lies in meaning.