OK, I have to say, that was one hell of a Lenten season. Not only did I slip up a couple of times (a night in Florida with a magnum of house chianti & a night in West Hartford's Barcelona come to mind), but Charlie Sheen failed to deliver the goods. Bummer. But I learned the only good thing about giving up wine for 40 days is that you end up with a full wine fridge when it's over. Awesomeness.
One of the things I purchased was this bottle of champagne, for Easter at my in-law's house. For those of you who don't know, my father-in-law, Ta, is pretty ill. He's got terminal cancer, Mantle cell lymphoma to be exact. And he likes to drink. So I bought a bottle of this champagne for him. It came in a killer bottle in a fancy box. On a side note, the only reason I've ever heard of Ruinart champagne is b/c my FAVORITE boutique chocolatier, Vosges, infuses their champagne truffles with this. Yum.
As soon as I opened this bottle, the smell of apples hit me. Like the freshest apple juice you've ever smelled, all different types of juicy apples & one of those hand-held juicer things. It's a little darker yellow in color, like a clear, pale apple juice. How's that for irony?
In my mouth, this wine is dry. That's the first thing that comes to mind. Dry. The taste of alcohol is intermittent, the taste hitting on the rugae but disappearing at the mid-palate. I personally find the lack of apples on the palate disappointing. I also find the mouthfeel (...) a little disappointing, a little thin & watery. And dry. I think I mentioned that already.
The worst part about this wine is that, at the first sip, I thought it was the best champagne I'd ever tasted. By the time I swallowed, it tasted no better than my two favorite bubbly stand-bys, which I won't name now b/c I'll be reviewing them later, but one is $14.99 & the other is $18.99. That's a whole lot cheaper than $69.99.
That being said, I don't regret buying this champagne in a kick-ass bottle. I wanted Ta to have real champagne for Easter, not just the sparkling wine one, and this one fit the bill nicely w/out a three-digit price tag. So, my final review is this. If you want the real deal at a decent price, this will do. If you just want a bubbly, steer clear from Reims.
Cheers!
Kate
