SUNDAY LETTER · WEEK 41 · 11 OCTOBER 2026
Chalk and character
Nine wines, four from one dinner, chalk running through many of them.
Good morning, This week brought nine new notes from six producers. Four Ruinart notes were tasted on Tuesday, 6 October. Four notes come from a Champagne dinner at LystPå Bodø on Wednesday, 7 October. The top score of the week went to Ruinart's Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs 2013.
The one to find
"A beautiful and complex Champagne." That was my first line, and it still sums up the wine. Tonka bean and lightly roasted coffee come first, followed by clean candied citrus and white and yellow stone fruit. A saline minerality runs underneath all of it. Yeast and toasted brioche carry the finish.
A flight of Ruinart
Blanc Singulier Edition 19 brings light warm spice from the oak. It shows citrus, yellow plum, quince and extreme amounts of chalk. It's good to finally see a zero dosage Champagne from this house. R de Ruinart was one of the finest bottles of R I have had in a long time. It is rich and elegant together, with candied citrus and ripe apple. A clear line of chalk runs underneath. The standard Blanc de Blancs stays cool and fresh, with chilled citrus and crisp apple. Its chalky minerality keeps the fruit tight.
Also worth your attention
A bomb of a wine. Rich and already lightly developed, with a creamy texture. Fresh fruit still runs through the core, but toasted hazelnut has arrived alongside. It shows real time without dosage to soften the landing.
A richer, more oxidative style than one usually finds in a pure Chardonnay. Creamy in texture, with ripe apple, dried fig, candied citrus, warm spice and toasted yeast.
A lovely balance between acidity and a ripe fruit tone, with the zero dosage suiting the wine well. Yellow apples, yellow raspberries, lemon zest, baked orange and jasmine sit over a clear character of chalk.
For the cellar
The week in numbers
The rest of the week
Mailly Grand Cru
Lilbert-Fils
Until next Sunday,
Magnus