Ruelle-Pertois Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut Millésime Champagne 2017 is a 100% Chardonnay vintage Champagne from the family’s Grand Cru vineyards in Chouilly, Oiry and Cramant, in the Côte des Blancs. Aged for seven years on lees and disgorged in spring 2024, it is a refined, mineral-driven wine—bright and citrus-driven in youth, with the chalky complexity and creamy texture to develop gracefully over the next few years.
Technical Details
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Producer: Ruelle-Pertois, Moussy, Côte des Blancs, Champagne, France
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Wine: Champagne Grand Cru, Blanc de Blancs Brut Millésime
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Vintage: 2017
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Grape variety: 100% Chardonnay
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Vineyard: Family’s Grand Cru vineyards in Chouilly, Oiry and Cramant
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Vineyard classification: Grand Cru
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Ageing: 7 years on lees
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Disgorgement: Spring 2024
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Dosage: 7 g/l
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Alcohol: 12.5%
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Bottle size: 750 ml
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Serving temperature: 8–10°C
The Producer
Ruelle-Pertois is a family-owned grower-producer based in Moussy, between the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs. Founded by Michel Ruelle and Martine Pertois, the estate is now run by their children, Benoît and Virginie, and is known for its Champagnes that emphasize freshness, minerality and terroir expression.
The estate owns approximately six hectares of vineyards, anchored by Grand Cru holdings in Chouilly, Cramant and Oiry. For decades, the family has sold most of its wine to longtime local customers and restaurants, making its bottles rarely leave France—a true hidden gem of the region.
Vineyard and Terroir
The 2017 Millésime is made from 100% Chardonnay sourced from the family’s Grand Cru vineyards in Chouilly, Oiry and Cramant, in the heart of the Côte des Blancs. These chalk-rich soils give the wine its hallmark minerality, saline tension and crystalline structure.
The blend draws on roughly equal proportions of the family’s prized Grand Cru Chardonnay holdings, giving the wine a layered expression of the Côte des Blancs terroir. The result is a Champagne whose colour, aromatics and texture punch far above its modest price.
The 2017 Vintage
The 2017 Champagne growing season was marked by a lack of abundant sunshine, resulting in grapes that were a little diluted and “soft” in some cases. However, the best producers—such as Ruelle-Pertois—managed to craft wines of balance and refinement with early drinkability.
The 2017 Blanc de Blancs Millésime is described as a Champagne that may not go for decades in a collector’s cellar, but offers immediate pleasure and complexity. Its seven years on lees give it a depth and richness that belie the vintage’s reputation.
Winemaking and Ageing
The Chardonnay is fermented in stainless steel, then laid down on lees for seven years before disgorgement in spring 2024. A modest 7 g/l dosage was added at disgorgement—just enough to round out the wine’s incisive mineral spine without dulling its vibrancy.
This extended lees ageing gives the wine its creamy texture and subtle brioche notes, while the chalky terroir provides the backbone of minerality and tension. The result is a Champagne that is both generous and precise.
Tasting Profile
The 2017 Blanc de Blancs Millésime opens with lemon curd and a touch of brioche on both the nose and palate. Beautiful, fine bubbles emit lovely lemon custard and passionfruit notes, wonderfully enhanced by a touch of crème brûlée and spicy anise and ginger notes.
On the palate, the wine is creamy and luscious, with a fleshy texture and a sustained mineral finish. The finish lingers on and on, with a balance of ripe fruit, fine mousse and chalky minerality that makes the wine both approachable and compelling.
Aroma and flavour: lemon curd, lemon custard, passionfruit, brioche, crème brûlée, anise, ginger, green apple, white blossom, preserved lemon and crushed oyster shell.
Palate: light- to medium-bodied, creamy and luscious, with vibrant acidity, fine mousse, layered fruit and a long, mineral finish.
Style: a refined, terroir-driven vintage Blanc de Blancs—bright and citrus-driven in youth, with the chalky complexity and creamy texture to develop over time.
Drinking Window
The 2017 Millésime is approachable on release but benefits from a short period of cellaring. Its seven years on lees and multi-village blend give it the balance to develop gracefully over the next few years.
Serve it cool at 8–10°C and allow it time in the glass to reveal its full aromatic complexity and mineral depth.
Food Pairing
Serve at 8–10°C with oysters, raw shellfish, sea urchin, langoustines, crab, sushi and sashimi. Its saline finish and citrus precision also make it excellent with grilled fish, white asparagus, poultry in cream sauce, and young or lightly aged goat’s cheese.
The wine’s creamy texture and mineral structure make it particularly well suited to richer, more savoury dishes, where its chalky spine and lemon curd profile can shine.
Collector Note
This is a rare, vintage Blanc de Blancs from a family-owned grower-producer whose bottles rarely leave France. The 2017 Millésime is produced in limited quantities, and its seven years on lees, Grand Cru sourcing and modest dosage make each release distinctive.
The combination of Ruelle-Pertois’s reputation, the chalky Côte des Blancs terroir and the freshness of the 2017 vintage makes this a compelling choice for collectors seeking age-worthy, terroir-driven Champagne with long-term development potential.
Recommended serving: open and allow 30–60 minutes in a large white-wine glass before serving at 8–10°C to reveal its full aromatic complexity and mineral depth.
