Belfast’s five-star Merchant Hotel has announced an exciting new partnership with one of the world’s most sought after champagnes.
Ruinart – the world’s oldest champagne – will now be served as the 5-star hotel’s new house champagne. The exciting partnership, brokered through drinks company, Dillon Bass, will make The Merchant the exclusive stockist of the luxury brand in Northern Ireland.
Ruinart was first established in 1729 by Nicolas Ruinart, a draper by trade. His first account ledger devoted to “wine with bubbles” on September 1, 1729 serves as the birth certificate for the first Champagne House ever created.
The timing of the exclusive new partnership is also apt as 2014 marks the 200th anniversary of the first shipment of Ruinart to Ireland.
Guests at the luxury hotel are anticipated to consume around 1,600 bottles of Ruinart over the next 12 months, which equates to approximately 8,000 flutes of champagne. If stacked on top of each other, 8,000 champagne flutes would climb six times the height of the Eiffel tower, or twenty one times the height of Belfast’s Obel building.
Commenting on the launch, Gavin Carroll, general manager, The Merchant Hotel said:
“Ruinart is a champagne of great quality and heritage and we are thrilled to partner with Dillon Bass to bring this exclusive brand to Northern Ireland for the first time. It’s particularly fitting that the launch coincides with the 200th anniversary of the first cases arriving in Ireland.
In terms of its taste, the Chardonnay grape is the very heart of Ruinart, which creates a bright, intense and elegant champagne.
The delicate, fragile Chardonnay only displays the full breadth of its aromatic richness however after a slow maturation in the coolness of the Ruinart Crayères (chalk cellars): up to 3 years for non-vintage wines, and 9 to 10 years for a Dom Ruinart.
A vibrant, clear yellow colour with golden reflection, at first the nose is delicate, fresh and fruity, filled with white-fleshed fruits (pears, Bosc apples), apricots, as well as hazelnuts and fresh almonds. Several floral and spicy notes add an extra hint of complexity.
Ruinart champagne will be served to guests in The Merchant’s Cocktail Bar, Berts’ Jazz Bar and The Great Room Restaurant and costs £60 per bottle or £13 per glass.
For further information, call The Merchant Hotel on 028 9023 4888.